Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan – Move over: Saiyaara’s fresh faces are the new Bollywood stars

Dubai: After decades of Bollywood’s ageing, greying superstars trying to play 25, along comes Saiyaara.

Two actual twenty‑somethings – Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda – fall in love on screen, and the global box office catches fire. Imagine that – young people playing young people. Revolutionary.

And here’s the thing: it’s not even pretending to be high art or high brow. This is the cheesiest movie you will see this year, maybe this decade.

A young, troubled musician with borderline anger‑management issues meets a wide‑eyed, virginal journalist and songwriter.

They collaborate on a song, sparks fly, she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and after oceans of drama and heartbreak he becomes her rock and steady presence. Pass the tissues.

But this film’s unexpected success tells you something.

In Bollywood – long ruled by the enduring triumvirate of Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan, now all well into their fifties – there is a deep thirst for fresh blood. And frankly, seeing age‑appropriate actors finally playing young lovers is a relief.

Nothing gets my knickers in a twist quite like a fifty‑something trying to pass off as thirty while wooing a woman half his age.

More importantly, Saiyaara is a film about young love and possibilities – in an era where you can’t even get your boyfriend on Tinder to commit to a McDonald’s date, let alone dinner. Seeing a guy who will actually go out on a limb for a girl points to something bigger: a generation secretly yearning for their own happily‑ever‑after.

Think about it: when was the last time a film with such young talent set the box office on fire or caught the imagination of the Bollywood‑loving public? Probably back in the Aashiqui days, when Rahul Roy and Anu Aggarwal caused that kind of frenzy.

It makes you wonder – is there an actioner and star‑power spectacle fatigue creeping in?

Is India finally ready to say, “Thank you Khans and Kumars, but let someone else hold the mic for a bit”?

Cheesy as it is, Saiyaara has done what all those billion‑rupee stunt fests couldn’t – get people talking, crying and buying tickets.

It also points to a cultural reset. For too long, Bollywood has been addicted to nostalgia – rebooting its own stars, its own franchises, its own 90s swagger.

Saiyaara feels like a rebellion against that. It may be cheesy, it may be sentimental, but it’s also an unapologetic reminder that the world doesn’t revolve around the ageing guncles anymore.

For a generation exhausted by ghosting, swiping and half‑hearted commitment, seeing a boy show up and stick around is pure fantasy fulfilment. Maybe that’s the whole point: sincerity is the new spectacle, and young faces telling simple stories might just be the next big thing.