Saiyaara Movie Review : Impressive debutants Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda power this heartfelt romantic musical

Story: Brooding, abrasive rising musical sensation Krish Kapoor (Ahaan Panday) is anchored by a simple, stoic lyricist Vaani Batra (Aneet Padda), who rediscovers her words after heartbreak through his love. Their romance and Krish’s meteoric rise to stardom hit a hurdle with a tragic turn of events. The film portrays how they navigate this challenge.

Review: 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.


‘Saiyaara’ Box Office collection day 13: Ahaan Panday-Aneet Padda’s romantic drama directed by Mohit Suri mints Rs 7 crore on second Wednesday; inches closer to Rs 275 crore mark in India