Ahaan Panday prayed for Aneet Padda’s casting in Saiyaara, accepts he felt ‘wronged’ by people: ‘Something in my personal life left me shattered’

Recalling the difficult time when someone close the him passed away, the 27-year-old added, “I would have to tell myself to [keep the faith] because things weren’t going the way I wanted them to. Something happened in my personal life that left me shattered. A person very important to me [passed away], and she was my backbone; the only person that would call me a hero every day in my home and always meant it. And I think once she [passed away] that confidence started to shatter; the only way to deal with that was to just keep working, and that’s what I did.”

“Eventually, I got this opportunity. I would always remind myself: to assist on a set is a dream for millions. To be able to pursue art is a luxury; most people didn’t get to do that, I did. That kept me going. I got to be on a film set, I got to learn from other actors. I didn’t ever think it would be this [big]. I was happy doing this; I was never sour or bitter that things weren’t going my way, because I got to be on a set,” he reflected.

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When asked how was he so sure, the actor said, “I think it goes back to my grandmother; that was the person close to me whom I lost. Yash Raj Films was a dream for me, it was the cinema I grew up with, the cinema my grandmother dreamed I would be a part of. She used to call me ‘Raj’ all the time. My sister’s Hindu name is Chandni, based on the film Chandni, and my Hindu name is Yash; we’re big filmy Yash Raj lovers.”

Ahaan continued, “So, when Adi sir asked me, it was instinctive because I believed it was my destiny. It was just this childhood dream of mine; I’ve seen these heroes my whole life, emulated them, looked up to them and that was [what I wanted to be] the first chapter of my professional life. I know [when I’m older] I’ll look back on this and be very happy, and I know my grandmother would be very happy. It was her dream for me to be an actor; I wanted to be a writer. Somewhere, I did this for her.”

Ahaan Panday, who played the beloved role of Krish Kapoor, also revealed what made him happy as an artiste after the release of Saiyaara. “One thing that made me very happy is that very rarely as an artiste does your work speak first… for the first time, in a long time has a film come first, and as an artiste that’s the best thing you could ask for,” he was quoted by THR.

Aneet Padda, on the other hand, recalled a special moment of her and Ahaan before she signed the film. “When I was auditioning for Saiyaara, Ahaan had taken me to Mount Mary Church and we’d lit a candle and sat in the car. I asked him, ‘What did you wish for?’ He looked at me and asked, ‘What did you wish for?’ A week later, I got the call that I’d gotten the role, and he said, ‘Of course, I’d wished that you’d get the role!'” she shared.

Saiyaara surpassed many records by crossing the Rs 500 crore mark at the global box office. The movie also features Geeta Agarwal, Rajesh Kumar, Varun Badola and Shaad Randhawa in pivotal roles. Meanwhile, on the work front, Ahaan Panday hasn’t announced his next film after Saiyaara yet. On the other hand, Aneet Padda will be seen in the web series Nyaya, helmed by Nitya Mehra and Karan Kapadia.