Shaan R Grover belongs to that rare breed who is happy that his social media, over the past few days, has been flooded with hate messages. To the actor, it’s proof that his negative turn in Saiyaara has hit a chord with the audience. “Boys have been messaging me that they hated my character, while girls are leaving comments that they loved my performance. I’m happy people are showing love for my work, even if it’s through hate messages,” laughs Grover, who plays Aneet Padda’s former boyfriend in the love story.

Mohit Suri’s directorial venture, which serves as Ahaan Panday and Padda’s Bollywood launchpad, also marks Grover’s first Hindi film. If things were different, he would have debuted years ago with another Yash Raj Films’ (YRF) offering. “I had auditioned for Mardaani 2 [2019], but I didn’t get through. I’ve had a long connection with YRF as I was a part of Shanoo Sharma’s casting team from 2016 for a year. After seeing my dubsmash videos, she felt there was something special about me. So, she trained me for a year.”

A still from Saiyaara