‘If you put Shah Rukh Khan in Saiyaara, it will flop; Ahaan Panday doesn’t have the personality to carry Jawan’: Varun Badola

Saiyaara actor Varun Badola spoke about Ahaan Panday's screen presence, and said that you can't just fit him into a film like Jawan yet, because he wouldn't be able to carry it by himself.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | August 14, 2025 09:37 IST

Saiyaara cast member Varun Badola said that you can't fit Shah Rukh Khan into the film and expect it to work.

Actor Varun Badola, who appeared in the recent blockbuster Saiyaara, spoke about the film’s two leads, the newcomers Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda. He dismissed the suggestion that the era of stars is over, as many have been saying after the success of Saiyaara. Directed by Mohit Suri, the romantic drama has grossed over Rs 500 crore at the worldwide box office, ranking among the highest-grossing Hindi films of all time. It has also been compared to Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Maine Pyaar Kiya, and Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, all of which launched their respective stars – Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, and Hrithik Roshan.

In an interview with Nayandeep Rakshit on YouTube, Varun said, “People are saying that this film has proven that we don’t need stars anymore. That’s not true. Abhi tum Ahaan Panday ko utha ke Jawan mein daalo, Jawan flop ho jayegi. Shah Rukh ko Saiyaara mein daal do, Saiyaara flop ho jayegi (Try putting Ahaan Panday in Jawan, Jawan will flop. Put Shah Rukh in Saiyaara, and Saiyaara will flop). Shah Rukh will suddenly become too big for the film, and Ahaan will not have the personality to run Jawan.”

Also read – War 2 Movie Review LIVE Updates: Climax of Hrithik Roshan-Jr NTR film ‘mind-boggling’, say early reviews

Refusing to predict how Ahaan’s career might pan out, Varun said that it all depends on the choices the young actor makes going forward. Produced by Aditya Chopra, Saiyaara was offered to Ahaan as a launchpad after a separate project he was attached to fell through. Varun said that the young actor has a solid screen presence, and that he was impressed with Aneet’s grasp over Hindi. He also admitted that the father-son storyline in the film was very ‘Bhatt camp’, but that’s understandable because Mohit Suri started out under Mahesh Bhatt.

This isn’t the first time that Varun has expressed apathy towards the film’s success. In an interview with SCREEN, the actor called out the publicity team, and suggested that videos of overzealous fans might not be authentic. “I saw the euphoria on Instagram. Log jo chudiyaan tod rahe hai, chaatiyaan peet rahe hai (People were breaking their bangles, beating themselves). I think the promotions team went a little overboard there, where people are going to see the film, putting IV drips. Those people must have been told to give content in some way; thank god, people didn’t get their legs broken and went crawling to see the film,” he said.

Stories For You