In Saiyaara, Mohit Suri ditches ‘done-up faces’ for authentic, botox-free beauty — Here’s why it matters

Dubai: In a refreshingly unfiltered and candid admission, director Mohit Suri of 'Saiyaara' fame recently confessed that casting a heroine in Bollywood who hasn’t altered her face or body is now a challenge.

While promoting his latest romantic hit 'Saiyaara', Suri told Bollywood Hungama he was hunting for a 20–22-year-old who hadn’t done “anything cosmetological.” And in an industry where even debutantes look like they were born on FaceTune, that’s quite the tall order.

“I’m sorry if I don’t sound politically correct,” he said, “but I wanted someone who felt real and hadn’t altered her body.”

That ‘someone’ turned out to be newcomer Aneet Padda—fresh-faced, expressive, and apparently untouched by fillers or filters. And while the audience is loving her chemistry with Ahaan Panday, the real scene-stealer here might be Suri’s blunt assessment of what’s considered real in today’s Bollywood.

Let’s not kid ourselves—cosmetic enhancement is practically a rite of passage in the Hindi film industry.

Late actress Sridevi and producer Boney Kapoor's daughter Khushi Kapoor, for example, didn’t just tweak her look—she owned it. In a series of interviews, she’s said what most won't: “Yes, I have changed my looks. But everyone thinks I have done some 10–20 things. It’s obviously not the case.”

She went on to slam the hypocrisy in the system: “Plastic is seen as the biggest insult... but I don’t think it’s bad if someone gets work done.” No denial. No PR spin. Just straight-up honesty.

And the internet receipts? They’re everywhere. Childhood photos of Khushi—with unibrows and an unfiltered face—tell a story of transformation, not deception. Add to that her admission about eyebrow nanoblading, lip fillers, and more: “It’s normal. Nothing to hide,” she said. And she’s right—why should there be shame in agency?

Shruti Haasan echoes this sentiment, and then some. “I did get my nose fixed. If I could make it prettier, it’s my face, why wouldn’t I?” she once told Economic Times, also confirming the use of fillers.

On Instagram and in interviews, she’s challenged the industry’s performative denial culture: “If there are any actresses telling you they haven’t done it, they are blatantly lying… people’s faces don’t change that much.”

So when Mohit Suri says other actors were “too done up,” it raises a critical question: Has 'natural beauty' now become the new impossible standard?

Because here’s the irony—whether it’s surgically enhanced perfection or “natural” features free of any tweak, women in the industry are still being judged first on their faces, not their talent. Damned if you do, invisible if you don’t.

That’s not to say Suri doesn’t have a point. In a digital world where everyone is just one filter away from becoming an avatar, authenticity has become a rare commodity.

His casting of Aneet Padda is perhaps a protest against a system where sameness is celebrated over soul.

“Her tests were [expletive] good,” he said, even if their first meeting—yellow outfit and all—was “disastrous.” But it was Ahaan Panday, ever the gentleman, who saved the moment by deflecting awkward energy like a pro.

And yet, there’s something deeply telling about this whole episode. Suri had to look far and wide for someone who hadn’t altered her appearance. That alone speaks volumes about how normalised cosmetic work has become—and why honesty about it should be normalised, too.

So while Saiyaara sets the box-office on fire, riding on melody, moody lighting, and messy romance, the off-screen conversation it’s triggered might be even more important: In a business obsessed with visual perfection, is there room left for real?

Real skin, real flaws, real choices—enhanced or not.

Because as Khushi and Shruti have shown us, the most radical thing a woman can do in Bollywood today... is admit she did it. And that she’d do it again.