Casting director Shanoo Sharma reveals Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda's reaction to 'Saiyaara' success and the Rs 20 crore opening day number: 'They're two kids who don't know the business'

‘Saiyaara’ proved to be a juggernaut at the box office, showing no signs of slowing down till now. In just three weeks, the film has stormed past the ₹300-crore mark in India alone. Amid all the fanfare, YRF’s casting director Shanoo Sharma has revealed how Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda reacted to the success of the film.

Recalling the euphoric moment when the film’s success became undeniable and it collected more than Rs 20 crore on day 1, Shanoo shared, “We were all in the studio, and as we were walking in, someone would come back and say, ‘We’ve locked the…’ and they’d be like, ‘What? What?’ Then Ahaan would turn to Aneet and say, ‘Aneet, you don’t understand, that’s huge!’”



Chuckling at the memory, she added, “They’re two kids who don’t really know the business but they were still like, ‘That’s massive, right? That’s good, right? Yeah.’ It was magical. Firstly people were coming out of these trial shows crying.”

The emotional impact of Saiyaara has clearly touched not just audiences but also its stars. In the wake of the film’s success, both Ahaan and Aneet took to Instagram to share heartfelt messages. Ahaan’s post, in particular, resonated deeply with fans. “I don’t know what lies ahead for me, but I know that in this moment I feel the love in my bones. I feel it for every single one of you, and I’ll feel it forever and ever and ever,” he wrote.

While the overnight fame may seem like a dream, the path to this point was anything but easy. Ahaan’s journey spanned years of training and waiting — a process interrupted and prolonged by the COVID-19 pandemic. When asked if the delays ever broke his morale, Shanoo revealed, “He saw the world moving ahead, he saw everybody from his generation moving ahead. I don't know, I think it must have irked him within, and you could see that if you really knew him well enough, but I don't think it ever broke his spirit. The one thing Ahaan has is spirit. He has spirit of another level. So I don't think it broke that.”