Director Mohit Suri recently witnessed the biggest box office success of his career with the romantic musical Saiyaara. The film marked the debut of Ahaan Panday and also starred Aneet Padda as the female lead. The emotional love story has struck a chord with audiences, and its impact is clearly visible at the box office. The film also explores the strained relationship between Ahaan’s character Krish and his father, played by Varun Badola.

Mohit Suri on Mahesh Bhatt's influence in Saiyaara

Ahead of the film’s release, Suri spoke to mid-day and shared how Mahesh Bhatt helped him visualise a crucial scene where Krish loses control and gets violent with his father outside a major music label's office. In the scene, Krish reacts strongly after his father is caught by the police for public nuisance under the influence of alcohol. When the father shows no remorse, Krish loses his temper, pushes him onto the road, and engages in an intense verbal exchange.

However, shooting the scene wasn’t easy for Suri, who sought advice from his mentor Mahesh Bhatt. “Bhatt saab always pushed you to find the diamond within yourself,” Suri said. “That’s why there’s no similarity between what I make or what Vikram Bhatt, Anurag Basu, or Kunal Deshmukh make. He has a different approach for each of us. But what does he really do? He doesn’t know the script. He doesn’t know the music. He doesn’t get involved in the traditional ways.”
Suri recalled the conversation he had with Bhatt before filming the scene. “It was a dramatic moment in the story — where Krish lashes out at his father. I had entered the studio, and it was Yash Raj Studios. I remember thinking, maybe I’m pushing it too far, given their value system. Am I crossing a line? The next day at 7 AM, I called up Bhatt saab and said, ‘I need to talk to you.’”