Why Ahaan Panday's Saiyaara could be most strategically marketed Bollywood debut in years

Dubai: Let’s state the obvious: Ahaan Panday is trending. And not just because Saiyaara, his debut film, is playing in packed theatres across Dubai and worldwide— but because the marketing behind it might be one of the most controlled, polished, and deliberately “unpolished” PR rollouts we’ve seen in a while.

Produced by Yash Raj Films and directed by Mohit Suri, Saiyaara arrived on the scene with all the gloss and ambition of a grand Bollywood launch — but none of the usual press noise. No marathon junkets. No endless press days. No 10-minute Zoom interviews with regional and international publications including Gulf News. In short, none of the usual “hamsters on a wheel” circus we’ve come to expect from Bollywood promotions.

And yet, here we are, talking about it non-stop.

Instead of press interviews, we got something else: strategic silence paired with orchestrated noise.

Ahaan’s cousin Ananya Panday cried after watching the film and made sure we saw it. Alia Bhatt gave it a thumbs up. Karan Johar waxed lyrical. And in one viral moment, a man on an IV drip “insisted” on watching it in a theatre. You could call it a masterstroke of understated marketing — or just manipulation wrapped in moody Gen Z lighting.

Because make no mistake: this wasn’t organic. This was calculated.

It’s almost like they’re whispering, “No, no, we’re not pushing this movie too hard.” But then they nudge a star here, drop a reel there, and plant the right reaction in just the right influencer’s timeline. You blink, and bam — you’re watching a moody debutant strum a guitar while your phone fills with well-timed celebrity endorsements.

To be clear, Saiyaara isn’t a terrible film. In fact, it’s perfectly watchable. As I wrote in my review, it’s sincere, occasionally moving, and carried by two fresh faces — Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda — both trying very hard to live up to the burden of a tragic Gen Z love story. It has the emotional blueprint of The Fault in Our Stars, but not the depth. The music hums but never soars. The tears come, but not convincingly.

Ahaan, playing a brooding, joint-smoking rockstar with daddy issues, has the screen presence but not yet the performance range. Aneet’s journalist-with-a-diary schtick is endearing but too one-note. And don’t get me started on the nepo baby monologue — it’s like the script momentarily forgot who it was written for.

Still, you can’t fault the hustle. And in 2025, the hustle doesn’t always look like a mic and a soundbite. Sometimes, it looks like no interviews at all.

Maybe this is the new playbook. Maybe YRF decided that less is more — especially when your lead is being launched into a climate that’s increasingly cynical about star kids. Maybe skipping the press tour was a way to avoid uncomfortable questions. Or maybe — just maybe — it was a stroke of branding genius designed to make us think we discovered Saiyaara all on our own.

But here's the rub: if you're going to game the system, don't pretend you're not playing. Don’t call it low-key when every post is timed, every reel is crafted, and every celebrity shout-out lands like clockwork.

So yes, Saiyaara is out. It’s doing well. It’s emotionally uneven but visually pretty. And its stars might grow into themselves.

But let’s not pretend this was an underdog launch. This was a studio-backed, PR-savvy, narrative-controlled rollout that just happened to wear distressed jeans and cry on cue.

And honestly? That might be the most interesting thing about it.