Ahaan Panday almost lost Saiyaara due to his mimicry video of Shah Rukh Khan? Mohit Suri says, ‘Meri wife ne dekha aur…’

Mohit Suri revealed that he initially doubted if Ahaan's fit for the role in Saiyaara, but after a dinner, he recognised his potential.

Filmmaker Mohit Suri is back with yet another romantic drama, titled Saiyaara, which marks the Bollywood debut of Ananya Panday's cousin, Ahaan Panday. When the film was announced, Ahaan's old video mimicking Shah Rukh Khan and recreating his iconic scenes from films like Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Mohabbatein surfaced on the internet, leading to immense criticism. Now, in an interview with Radio Nasha, Mohit has revealed that Ahaan almost lost the role in Saiyaara because of those videos.

Mohit Suri reveals how Ahaan Panday bagged Saiyaara.

Mohit Suri on Ahaan's mimicry videos

When asked about the rumours that Ahaan was almost rejected for Saiyaara due to his mimicry videos of Shah Rukh Khan, Mohit denied it and said, "Usne bhut pehle, industry main aane se pehle kuch kiya tha. Meri wife ne dekha tha aur unhe laga bhut endearing hai. Maine dekha nahi tha (He had done something a long time ago, before entering the industry. My wife had seen it and found it very endearing. I hadn’t seen it). By the time I came across him, he had taken it down because people were telling him, ‘Do you want to do mimicry or become an actor?’ When I came on board, Adi sir told me, ‘I have a guy who’s perfect for you,’ after reading the script, and he made me meet Ahaan. But Ahaan wasn’t going to get the film because of the auditions he was giving at that time."

He recalled how he initially believed Ahaan was nothing similar to the character in Saiyaara and said, "I met him, and even in his behaviour, I didn’t see anything that matched the character in my film. He is a very sweet, nice boy, and I told Adi, ‘He’s nothing like what you’re saying.’ Then Adi said, ‘Do one thing — go to dinner with him and tell him he’s not getting the role.’ That night, I was with him till 3 am. By the end of the night, I saw my character in him. I’ve still never seen his mimicry video of Shah Rukh Khan. He’s such a wicked guy — after completing the film, he WhatsApped me all his terrible audition videos, saying, ‘Look who you’ve cast'."

About Saiyaara

Mohit Suri helmed the film, which was produced by YRF. Saiyaara is a romantic musical drama starring Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda in lead roles. Its music is by a powerful line-up, including Mithoon, Sachet-Parampara, Vishal Mishra, Tanishk Bagchi, and more. The movie has garnered a positive response from the audience and is set to have a bumper opening.