Mohit Suri reveals ‘sweet’ Ahaan Panday was told he wasn't selected for Saiyaara: ‘You didn’t feel he was the character’

 Mohit Suri shared that when Ahaan Panday "thought the audition was over, he let his guard down - and that’s when his real self came through".

Mohit Suri's latest romantic drama, Saiyaara, starring newcomers Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, has been impressing both critics and moviegoers. Now, speaking with India Today, Mohit has revealed that he wasn't convinced in the beginning that Ahaan would be able to play the lead role in Saiyaara. Mohit Suri shared that Aditya Chopra asked him if he would make his movie with Ahaan.

Mohit Suri recalls his first reaction after meeting Ahaan Panday

Mohit, however, felt Ahaan was "so nice and sweet" and wouldn't fit the character. He said, “Ahaan was in the Yash Raj system, and was supposed to do a film with them, which didn’t happen. When Adi (Chopra) Sir read my script, he asked if I would consider him. I always wanted to make this film with newcomers, so Adi Sir said, ‘I’ve got just the guy for you.' When I met Ahaan, he was so nice and sweet that you didn’t feel he was the character at all. I told Adi Sir, and he insisted on trying him out."

Mohit went for dinner, drink and to bar with Ahaan before casting him

They even had a "formal dinner and a couple of beers", but still Mohit felt Ahaan was "holding something back". "But he still wasn’t the character. I sensed he was holding something back. So I told him, ‘Stop calling me sir, just call me by my name. Take me to your world.’ We went to a nightclub, and by the end of the night, he was literally sitting on the bar - not the chair, the bar itself - and that’s when I realised, this is my guy. That’s the energy I needed.”

Ahaan was told he wouldn't star in Saiyaara

Even after that, Mohit wasn't convinced about Ahaan being part of Saiyaara. He was even told that he wasn’t getting the film. Mohit shared that when Ahaan "thought the audition was over, he let his guard down - and that’s when his real self came through". He added that he "finally saw the spark I’d been looking for". He said that the character took shape "not just as I had written him, but as a fusion of the script and who Ahaan truly is today".

About Saiyaara

The film tells the story of Krish (Ahaan), an aspiring singer, and Vaani (Aneet), a lyricist who writes for his character. "Though poles apart in their lives, beliefs, and backgrounds, Vaani and Krish are perfect for each other. Will they understand that truth despite their age and their problems? They say flawed, imperfect people make for a perfect love story... and Saiyaara is about celebrating that one love story that is so deep, so pure, and so caring that it is absolutely unconditional," read the film's synopsis.