Mohit Suri’s Saiyaara, starring Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, is proving to be a box office juggernaut. In just nine days since its release, the romantic-drama has overtaken Aamir Khan’s Sitaare Zameen Par, Ajay Devgn’s Raid 2 and Akshay Kumar’s Housefull 5 and has become the second highest grosser of the year, only behind Vicky Kaushal’s Chhaava.
On its second Saturday (Day 9), the film made Rs 26.5 crore, a 47.22 per cent increase from its previous day’s collection of Rs 18 crore. Saiyaara’s worldwide gross stands at Rs 277.81 crore and India net at Rs 217.25 crore.
The film continues to draw strong footfalls, recording an overall occupancy of 39.85% on its second Saturday across 5,963 shows nationwide. Saiyaara saw its highest occupancy in Chennai at 74.25% from 64 shows, followed closely by Bengaluru with 70.50% across 306 shows. Mumbai registered a 39.75% occupancy from 1,022 shows, while Delhi-NCR recorded 41.75% across 1,404 shows.
Akshay Kumar recently commented on Saiyaara’s success, calling it an encouraging sign for the Hindi film industry. In an interview with Hindustan Times, Akshay said, “I think it’s the best thing that has happened. It’s a very good sign for our Hindi film industry that a newcomer, a new boy and girl, have had a successful film. And I welcome them. I’m very happy. Honestly, I’m saying this, it’s such a good thing.”
With another vacant week to go before the release of Ajay Devgn’s Son of Sardaar 2 and Siddhant Chaturvedi and Triptii Dimri starrer Dhadak 2, Saiyaara is expected to break some more records. Directed by Mohit Suri and produced by Yash Raj Films, the film also features Geeta Agarwal, Rajesh Kumar, Varun Badola and Alam Khan in pivotal roles.
Our review of the film read: “Earlier this month, director Anurag Basu gave his take on modern love and relationships with Metro…In Dino. Suri’s Saiyaara might have nothing new to say but what is alluring is that it bears the director’s authentic voice. The music, however, works better in the film, than it does on a jukebox. If you are a middle-aged millennial, vexed with Hindi cinema not coming up with anything fresh, Saiyaara will give you respite by taking you to the good old days. And if you are young, bunking that class might not be a bad idea afterall.”