Saiyaara director Mohit Suri reveals he was blackmailed with negative reviews, reacts to allegations of fake audience reactions

The romantic drama Saiyaara has taken the industry by storm, grossing over Rs 500 crore in the last few weeks and launching the careers of newcomers Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda. The movie also revitalised director Mohit Suri’s career, which had been faltering in the last few years. He said in an interview that he’d been written off by the industry following the failure of his last film, Ek Villain Returns, and acknowledged that the same people who dismissed him were rattled by Saiyaara’s success. He also spoke about viral videos of audience members having animated reactions while watching his film, and revealed that he’d been blackmailed for positive reviews by people he considers ‘friends’.

Chatting with Faridoon Shahryar on YouTube, he was asked about those viral videos, which showed audience members ranting, raving, fainting, and having exaggerated reactions to the film. He said that it is difficult to ‘lie’ about having a physical reaction to a film, which is what his mentor Mahesh Bhatt always told him to aim for. He said that it is easier to ‘lie’ in a review. “I just don’t read reviews,” he said, adding, “A couple of them called me also, saying, ‘We are going to write a bad review unless you…’ I’m like, ‘Write it, I won’t read it’. I’ll make a film, you have a right to watch it or not watch it. Same way, you make your content, I won’t read it.”

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Mohit said that ‘the press never spoke about us’, back when he started out. He said that Aashiqui 2, his previous major hit, was ignored by certain circles entirely. “Now, when my film releases, I delete all my social media. I stay away, because I don’t know which one is genuine and which one is not. Some of them are my friends, and I know that they charge money for it,” he said, adding that on-ground reactions cannot be faked.

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In the same interview, Mohit Suri said that he had been written off by members of the industry following the failure of Ek Villain Returns, but YRF’s Aditya Chopra not only believed in him, but urged him to make Saiyaara with newcomers. The movie has its origins in Aashiqui 3, but due to some differences between warring production banners, the story was turned into Saiyaara, and produced by YRF instead.