Celebrate Cinema at Whistling Woods: ‘Saiyaara’ Team Celebrates Cinema’s Magic

Recently, an event titled Celebrate Cinema was organized at Whistling Woods International Institute in Mumbai. The entire team of the film Saiyaara was present, including director Mohit Suri, writer, composer, lyricist Raj Shekhar, and other key members. During the event, they shared their experiences with students and cinema enthusiasts. The presence of veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai made the event even more special.

Subhash Ghai Speaks

At the beginning of the event, Subhash Ghai congratulated the entire Saiyaara team and praised Mohit Suri. He said, "I am very happy today that the entire team of ‘Saiyaara’—the creators, music composer, writer, dialogue writer, music director, and the final captain of the ship, Mohit Suri—has made such a big hit film with newcomers. It was very important for us to understand the depths of this film. That’s why we decided that their presence at this festival was essential, to learn from their experience. Our students really enjoyed it today; everyone spoke from the heart and shared collaboration experiences. I congratulate you all and thank you for coming, sir."

He further added, "What amazed me the most—and I cannot express it enough—is that after so many years, I saw young people crying while watching the film. You make an emotional film, families cry, but I had never seen youngsters cry like this before. Even people like us watched and felt, 'What happened to you?' This generation, what we call Gen-Z, was deeply moved, and that’s the reach of modern cinema."

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Mohit Suri: Emotional Beginnings of Saiyaara and the Magic of Cinema

Mohit Suri shared his thoughts on the inspiration behind the film and the students’ response. He said, "When Subhash ji told me that it is a union of poetry and music and that we are celebrating Indian cinema in this way because of our connection with poetry, I didn’t give it much thought at the time. But when I went into the audience and met the students, I remembered the emotion on which this film began. The narrative of the film does not just stay with the film—it reaches consciousness, and that’s the magic of cinema."

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He explained, "The film started from a thought in my office—when a song is created, the lyrics are written, and the sync comes, it does not happen in the recording room. When you listen to that song, it takes you back to a moment, like love or the first rain. I thought, if someone loses their memories, can music bring it back? The mind forgets, but the heart always remembers. Cinema songs are remembered by the heart, not the mind. Seeing the students’ response made me extremely happy, and I don’t think I could have asked for a better platform after the release of Saiyaara."

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Working with Newcomers

Regarding working with newcomers, Mohit said, "Insecurity is always in a filmmaker’s mind. A few days ago, after the success of Saiyaara, I called Subhash ji. I was in Pune, thinking of an idea. I asked him, 'For whom should I write? Which actor?' He said, 'You’ve just come out of this; how can you think like that?' I thank seniors like him. Initially, I was thinking about star casts, but my writer Sankalp, my assistant Rohan, and my team supported me. I put my life and emotions into the script. I don’t think even the children of big stars today would make a film with newcomers on a budget. But I did the right casting, and today it proved correct."

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He also shared a moment from working with Raj Shekhar, "I’ll share a moment. When I first worked with Raj Bhai on the song 'Tum Ho To,' I asked him about his college life; he was setting the mood. You probably don’t know, I confess today, we wanted to take people back to the first-love moments. He shared his Holi story with me intentionally, so we could write a film in this way."

Box Office Success

It is worth noting that Saiyaara earned ₹541 crore worldwide. The film received an overwhelming response from audiences, with a production budget of around ₹80 crore, making it highly profitable.

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