EXCLUSIVE | 'Saiyaara' director Mohit Suri on working with Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda amid its success: 'Was discouraged by a lot of senior people saying...'

The success of Saiyaara hasn’t come easy for director Mohit Suri. It’s his first major success since the 2014 Ek Villain. The filmmaker has finally found his groove back and how. He has birthed two new stars in the form of Aneet Padda and Ahaan Panday. And in an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Suri revealed how he was discouraged by a lot of senior people from making this musical blockbuster.

Suri revealed, “When I started off this film, I was quite discouraged by a lot of senior people saying that nobody would be interested in a young love story. Because at that time, larger than life films were being made and I just thought that my voice would be lost there when everyone was shouting. So I just went and tried to make a film which is very different from what others were doing. And to me, the fact that people are appreciating that the difference that it’s standing out means a lot.”

Talking about the haunting soundtrack of his films that always remain etched in people’s minds, the filmmaker said, “Music was a matter of survival. While working with Vishesh Films, we didn’t have stars. Everyone was new, right from Emraan Hashmi to my sister to Kunal Kemmu. We realized that we didn’t have the promotion budgets like other big star films. We only played one promo when others played five. So we have a song in such a way that that one song stays with you more than the four that have been played by a star cast film.”

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“So the survival mechanism somewhere became a way of working, and that’s something I’ve continued over the last 20 years. But when it comes to visuals, I’ve never really concentrated on them. I’ve always let the actors act first, and then I place the camera according to that. But I must give credit to the last couple of years because I’ve been working with Vikas, he’s someone who’s added to my visual sense,” added the man of the moment.