Name: Saiyaara (2025)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Released: 2025-07-18
Rating: 7.0
Cast: Ahaan Pandey, Aneet Padda, Varun Badola, Geeta Agarwal, Rajesh Kumar

A young couple's passionate romance is tested by heartbreak and conflict, pushing them to their limits as they fight to hold on to love.

Saiyaara (2025)

Bollywood Hungama

Times of India

India Today

NDTV

Taran Adarsh

Pinkvilla

Firstpost

Sankalp Sadanah's story is excellent. Sankalp Sadanah screenplay is dramatic and gripping. But it also gives a dejavu of some past films of Mohit Suri. Rohan Shankar's dialogues are touching and contribute beautifully to the film.

Mohit Suri's direction is splendid. He has always been a fine storyteller but watch out for him here as he has evolved and how! His films usually deal with loneliness, alcoholism and a lot more and all these aspects are there. But at the same time, there's a lot more to the story. Thankfully, the makers didn't give out the plot in the trailer. Viewers will be astonished with the interval block and kudos to the makers for keeping it hidden. Some scenes that stand out are Krish's dramatic entry, Vaani admonishing Krish for not being able to pen the lyrics, Vaani confessing about her past while Krish plays cricket. Post-interval, the madness that occurs backstage is very dramatic. The pre climax is gripping while the finale is moving.

On the flipside, though Mohit Suri tries his best to ensure SAIYAARA stands out, one can't help but remember AASHIQUI 2 and his other films as a few plot points are similar. Some scenes come out as a bit silly and might lead to unintentional laughter in cinemas.
Ahaan Panday makes a terrific debut. His screen presence is electrifying and he shines the most in emotional scenes. Aneet Padda will surprise as her character is very challenging and she pulls it off like a pro. The chemistry of both is very enticing as well. Alam Khan (KV) leaves a huge mark. Geeta Agarwal (Vaani's mother), Rajesh Kumar (Vaani's father), Varun Badola (Krish's father), Shaad Randhawa (Prince), Sid Makkar (Vinit Rawal; manager), Shaan R Grover (Mahesh Iyer) and Neil Dutta (Cleo) lend able support.
On the whole, SAIYAARA is a stirring musical saga elevated by Mohit Suri’s deft direction, heartfelt romance, chart-topping music, and stellar lead performances. It strikes a perfect chord between emotion and spectacle, ensuring a captivating cinematic experience.  At the box office, it’s poised for an unexpectedly massive opening, with every chance to rank among the year’s biggest blockbusters.

Romance, raw emotions, cinematic visuals, and stirring music are the hallmarks of a Mohit Suri movie, and the director delivers on all these fronts. Writer Sankalp Sadanah sets the emotional tone early: Vaani is jilted on her wedding day. Six months later, she picks up the pieces of her broken heart and lands a gig as an intern journalist. Enter Krish, a hot-headed and troubled young musician with dreams of making it big. The two find solace in each other amid their personal struggles, until a tragedy strikes that will test their love and emotional strength. The warm, fuzzy romance that paves the way for deeper love and emotion in the rest of the movie strikes the right notes. However, the narrative glosses over what the tragedy truly entails, hastening things for convenience, making the story a tad unconvincing. It’s a romantic outing we have seen before, but it stays relevant to the new-age world of social media, reels, and collabs.
Suri gets the emotional core just right, but the film’s uneven pacing intermittently slows things down and often rushes through pivotal turns. Moments of raw emotion do land, though a slightly rushed climax leaves much to be desired. The film’s emotional core finds a match in its evocative music by Faheem Abdullah, Tanishk Bagchi, Rishabh Kant, Vishal Mishra, Arslan Nizami, Mithoon, and Sachet-Parampara. John Stewart Eduri’s background score enhances the overall experience. Vikas Sivaraman’s cinematography lends the movie an unmistakable cinematic appeal, with energetic live performances and camera angles that effectively capture the tender love and emotional scenes.
Ahaan Panday’s makes a smashing debut, capturing both the rough-edged swagger of a star-in-the-making and the vulnerability demanded later on. His prowess is on display in the finale as he revisits an earlier scene—channelling Virat ‘King’ Kohli—transforming the raw passion of the first half into pure emotion later. Aneet Padda is impressive in romantic and emotional scenes, and has a dainty yet commanding screen presence. The actress shines in a recording studio scene early on, when she talks about the enduring nature of emotions in music versus fleeting trends.
Saiyaara is a visually lush, emotive, and melody-driven experience that’s effective as a romantic musical. Impressive leads, heartfelt romance and emotions, and melodic tracks make it a worthwhile one-time watch for romantic-musical fans.

Love stories are made in heaven. There's someone out there for everyone. Your heart will know when you meet the right one. And there's nothing quite like that feeling - when you're in the presence of someone who makes you forget the world.

A whole generation grew up being taught the above, learning and unlearning love, shaped by grand cinematic moments that felt more like fantasy than fact. And while there's joy in that escapism, 'Saiyaara' dares to bring love down to earth. Somewhere between the rawness and vulnerability of Bollywood's fresh faces - Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda - you sense a connection that feels real.
Let's set the record straight: 'Saiyaara' doesn't offer something you haven't seen before. But in parts, it feels different - especially because it acknowledges and attempts to heal a generation raised on heartbreak. If watching Aman leave Naina felt like betrayal, or if Rahul Jaykar's suicide crushed you, 'Saiyaara' offers a promise: that if it's not good yet, it's not the end.
Directed by Mohit Suri, it follows the story of rising singer Krish Kapoor (Panday) and his songwriter, Vaani Batra (Padda). The two meet, start working together, fall in love and, like any relationship worth its salt, are tested by the tides. As Krish ascends to stardom, Vaani wrestles with her own battles.

The film leans heavily on its soulful soundtrack, delivering hit after hit, but it also gives ample space for both Padda and Panday to shine. Suri paints his cinematic canvas with bold strokes of drama, emotion, love, loss, and hope. And each colour stands tall.
'Saiyaara' is also the love story of today's generation with all its noise, its silences, its broken edges and its fragile hopes. It carries the potential to pull young audiences back to theatres - not with spectacle, but with something far more enduring: emotion. The magic of its music lifts the narrative, wrapping every moment in melody, while the chemistry between the leads sizzles on screen.

Writers Sankalp Sadanah and Rohan Shankar have created a world that mirrors the inner battles of an entire generation - wars waged between ambition and anxiety, love and loneliness, wanting to make it big yet stay grounded, dealing with unresolved tensions with parents, and through it all, yearning for just one moment of peace. One moment of love. One moment of selfless stillness.
'Saiyaara' lets you see yourself in its heartbreaks and little victories. It speaks a language many young hearts know too well.

The film's only real flaw is in its familiarity. The narrative feels like a path we've walked before. The story isn't new, the dilemmas aren't unheard of. But perhaps that's also the point - it's not trying to be a new love story. It's probably trying to be a love story. Perhaps that's enough.

What makes 'Saiyaara' worth appreciating is its portrayal of a vulnerable male protagonist. Bollywood has long glorified the rage, the ego, the armour of its heroes. But Krish Kapoor stands in stark contrast, he weeps, waits, and he lets go. He hurts in silence. He feels deeply, like the heroines once did in classic cinema. In one scene, he's furious and fraying at the edges, and shattered and longing in the next.
'Saiyaara' doesn't promise the best love story or the most dazzling performances. But it holds your hand, sings to your broken heart, and walks with you for a while. It's entertaining, emotional, and musical - a cinematic piece where the flaws are visible, but so is the heart.

Also, finally - welcome, Ahaan Panday! You look like you are meant for the movies.

Music is a time capsule, it takes you to your childhood, your first love, or reminds of how that petrichor feels when you breathe it in. Music can cure, and if not fully, it acts as an analgesic. Mohit Suri's emotional and musical drama Saiyaara may just be the panacea for the Hindi film and exhibition industries' problems.
Saiyaara is also a plea for film music that we must not let it die. It serves as a reminder to the viewers that "dimaag bhool sakta hai, dil nahin", a line spoken by one of the leads at a key juncture in the movie.

A good song that will stand the test of time is the reflection of a moment, a memory. Saiyaara's beats may be familiar, but there's a certain freshness to its treatment.
The story is as old as time. Bad boy meets good girl, sparks fly, and then, there's heartbreak, sacrifice, and reunion. And, no one does heartbreak like Mohit Suri. This heartbreak is lifted by rock, emo and grunge music, and this is not a complaint.

Had it been a film from the Bhatt camp, where Mohit Suri's roots lie both family and career-wise, Saiyaara would have had at least one death or murder. Since it's a Yash Raj Film, there is a silver lining to this darker cloud.

Aneet (Big Girls Don't Lie) plays Vaani Batra, a simple, sweet, 22-year-old who makes notes in her "dear diary" lest she should forget. When her fiance leaves her at the altar, her heart is broken, she goes into a blackhole and loses her voice (metaphorically) as she stops writing.

A few months down the road, Vaani meets Krish Batra, a brooding, weed-smoking, tattooed struggling singer Krish Kapoor who pummels a reviewer (*shudders*) for taking all the credit of his band Josh and handing in on a platter to a bade-baap-ki-aulaad, his bandmate.

In a cheeky hat-tip to the nepo baby bias, Krish says to the reviewer, "Nepo baby haggenge bhi toh bhi bologe kya haga hai." No need for a reminder but Ahaan Panday is the actor Chunky Panday's nephew and actor Ananya Panday's cousin and the family should be proud.

After Krish loses his band Josh and hosh, he finds Vaani and together they are music and lyrics (also the name of a Drew Barrymore movie). Since this is a spoiler-free review, there's another, major Drew Barrymore connection of Saiyaara which the viewer must look out for while watching the film. With Mohit Suri's signature grasp on emotions and music, Saiyaara becomes a love song with convincing performances, very reminiscent of the filmmaker's Zeher, Kalyug, and Aashiqui 2 days.

A special mention for Geeta Agrawal Sharma, who has played several mother roles in the last few years in Hindi films such as Laapataa Ladies, 12th Fail, and All Indian Rank. The actor plays Vaani's protective almost obsessive mother who has been given a couple of best lines in the film. She's a class act when she drops one-liners like "Mat baha ye keemti aansoo kisi ullu le patthe ke liye" or "Meri beti time pass nahin hai".

When Saiyaara's trailer dropped, a section of social media users were quick to compare the film with Mohit Suri's Aashiqui 2.

Saiyaara's dialogue "Kuch pal baaqi hain mere paas" callback has the ring of Aashiqui 2's "Suno. Kya? Kuch nahin bas yun hee" to it, and there's a strong possibility that it will become viral on social media, especially with the 20-somethings.
Both Krish and Vaani have issues, clearly.

Krish, who plays a parent to his alcoholic brawling father (Varun Badola), seeks outside validation of his potential fans until he meets Vaani, who accepts him for who he is. This is a new-age hero who vocally asks for help from the heroine when he needs it desperately. During the course of the film, just like the DP on his smartphone, his priorities also shift in life -- from himself to Vaani.

When it comes to Vaani, the biggest win is that she has a job and she's bloody good at it. When she finds out that Krish is keeping his career on the back burner for her, she asks him not to and urges him to chase his dreams. Her ex, who is a lecherous opportunist, keeps popping up in the film's second half and literally acts a trigger to everything that could go wrong with Vaani.

When Krish's father finally comes of age, the senior Kapoor tells the junior Kapoor to not repeat his mistakes. "Don't destroy yourself in the name of love," he says.

If we go by Saiyaara, we can have both the best of both worlds -- love and career -- in spite of everything. It's difficult to believe that Krish and Vaani's happy ending lasts longer than what is called a hit song today. Maybe Krish and Vaani do live happily ever after, despite all very real problems. I'll part on this note before the hangover of Saiyaara is cured by the real world.

#MohitSuri is back – and so is the romance genre... Love. Heartbreak. Drama. Music – #Saiyaara soars high... #AhaanPanday and #AneetPadda are sensational... UNMISSABLE! #SaiyaaraReview

#Saiyaara is *not* your run-of-the-mill love story – it dares to be different and succeeds gloriously... Director #MohitSuri presents a well-packaged entertainer – gripping screenplay, powerful dialogues, and a beautifully handled emotional graph.

The soundtrack is among the film's biggest triumphs – hauntingly melodious and seamlessly integrated into the narrative... The title track, already a rage, is sheer magic on screen.

#AhaanPanday makes a smashing debut – commanding screen presence, emotionally nuanced performance, and tremendous confidence for a newcomer... Hard to believe this is his first film... A star is born!

#AneetPadda is top-notch – radiant, expressive, and an absolute natural. Her portrayal is flawless, and the emotional depth she brings is remarkable for a debutante.

Most importantly, #Ahaan and #Aneet's chemistry is electrifying – organic and heartfelt... You genuinely feel for their characters, and that emotional connect is precisely what makes #Saiyaara so effective.

A special mention for #GeetaAgrawal, who plays #Aneet's mother – she stands out in every scene she appears in.

⭐️ Final word? #Saiyaara brings back the magic of timeless romance with a fresh, modern touch... Strongly recommended!

⭐️ #Boxoffice prediction: BLOCKBUSTER... One of the finest films to come out of #YRF.

The chemistry between Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda is the beating heart of Saiyaara. Their onscreen romance feels authentic and effortless. The music, a hallmark of Mohit Suri’s films, is a standout, with soulful tracks like Saiyaara, Tum Ho Toh, Dhun, Barbaad, Humsafar and others resonating deeply. Each song is not only melodious but also seamlessly woven into the narrative, enhancing the emotional depth. The picturization of these tracks is breathtakingly lovely, with lush visuals that capture the vibrancy of new love.
Mohit Suri’s direction is spellbinding, as he masterfully balances romance, drama, and music. The emotional arc of the story is compelling. It portrays Krish’s struggles with his family and Vaani’s battle with past heartbreak, convincingly, apart from the main issue that forms the film's edifice. The superb supporting cast, including Alam Khan as the lively Kiwi, and Geeta Agrawal and Rajesh Kumar as Vaani's parents, make Saiyaara all the more credible.
Saiyaara is a beautifully crafted romantic drama that triumphs through its stellar performances, enchanting music, and Mohit Suri’s masterful direction. Despite a familiar storyline, the film’s emotional depth and heartfelt chemistry make it a must-watch.

Saiyaara plays in theatres now. Go watch!

There haven’t been too many promotional activities for Saiyaara. It’s a film that stars two newcomers, Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda. During the promotions, director Mohit Suri has been speaking about the comparisons with Rockstar and Aashiqui 2. He revealed how his wife asked him if he had his own filmmaking style like Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Pradeep Sarkar. It has been two decades for the filmmaker and now it seems he has his own voice and versions of telling a story. He’s milking the same emotions packaged in different tales. The hero is a reckless maniac, the heroine is a fragile soul bruised inside out. And just like many of his previous outings, Saiyaara too begins with a heartbreaking moment.
The love-struck saga sees Panday as a ticking time bomb with insufferable anger and smoking issues (Hello Kabir Singh). We can sense that even before we see his face, because of the way his entry shot is staged. Padda is the angel of this devilish world, and we can sense that even before we see her face because of the way her entry shot is staged. Suri has a refined understanding of music and melancholy; the haunting soundtrack always compensates for the naïveté in the performances. The people in his films always end up biting more than they can chew. The director always throws his actors into deep waters with hit-and-miss results. The same could be true for Saiyaara.
Suri’s films are mostly humourless. You may hear one or two jokes here and there. There’s a good joke here as well that involves someone’s masters. But you do flash a smirk when Panday assaults a journalist only because he favoured a nepo kid. He unleashes a full monologue on Nepotism and real talent. Whether the irony was intentional is a question for the makers. But you cannot deny his relentlessness in making stories driven by passion and pathos
Vaani and Krish, the people the two newcomers play, are hard to comprehend. Nobody knows what they’ll do next. If Krish is a lunatic and a disaster in the making, Vaani is light and dainty. But she’s just as stubborn. No late night shifts, no passive smoking, no profanity when you’re with her. And now destiny has brought the two together. There are endless scenes and montages of chalk and cheese that skim the surface and never pierce through, and sadly, come across as hollow. And this happens despite your wish to root for them. Both have a gloomy past, so pain becomes their drive. And maybe that’s why neither of the two cracks a smile for a full hour. But after a point, we realise why Vaani is the way she is. And there’s something heartfelt about the way Padda plays this character. One must give it to the filmmaker for the way he stages his female characters. They not only have more meat but far more agency and control over their characters.

Ahan Panday’s sincerity only begins to show post the interval when his outbursts and outrageous behaviour are sanitised and his character becomes a lot more restrained. Even the couple’s togetherness feels more earned. But some jarring moments come in the way. Krish’s journey from the streets to super stardom happens in a flash. A parallel track about Vaani’s former flame feels erratic. The Malang-isque visuals and Aashiqui-isque pining also stop Saiyaara to have its own identity. There’s also a tinge of Ajay Devgn and Kajol’s U Me Aur Hum. But no further spoilers.
What keeps Saiyaara afloat is how two new faces submit to the vision of a filmmaker despite the messiness and imperfection of the narrative. What also holds the film together is the stunning title track even if the other songs may not have the lasting legacy of Suri’s previous works. It may not have the gorgeousness of the other love stories, but it may drag its feet, but the intent and inherent sincerity make up for it. Because when is love ever perfect?


Saiyaara Title Song | Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda | Tanishk Bagchi, Faheem A, Arslan N | Irshad Kamil

Saiyaara (2025)(2025)