In a year full of cinematic curveballs, one film has emerged as a surprising but much-needed hit: Mohit Suri’s Saiyyara. The romantic musical has not only soared at the box office but also reignited a larger conversation about the kind of stories that truly resonate with Indian audiences.
Veteran producer Anand Pandit, reflecting on the film’s runaway success, believes it signals a long-overdue return to emotionally rich, musically-driven love stories the kind that once defined Hindi cinema.
“Love never really went out of fashion,” Pandit says. “It was just placed on the back burner. Somewhere along the way, we lost our connection with the kind of storytelling that shaped our cinematic legacy.” 
Pandit points out that for decades, romance was the heartbeat of Bollywood from eternal classics like Laila Majnu (1976), Shirin Farhad (1956), and Sohni Mahiwal (1958, 1984), to tragic tales like Devdas, Ek Duuje Ke Liye, and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. Then came youthful hits like Bobby and Love Story, followed by the Aashiqui-era of musical romances that blended melody with heartbreak.
“Saiyyara,” he adds, “is born from that tradition. It is part of a lineage of films where music isn’t just background it’s the heartbeat. Its success proves that love stories with a musical heart are finally back.”
Pandit, known for his work across genres, notes that in recent years, Bollywood leaned too heavily on regional remakes, Korean thrillers, and algorithm-driven content often at the cost of emotional authenticity. “We began to drift from our strengths,” he says. “The emotional core and musicality that filmmakers like Raj Kapoor, Yash Chopra, and Guru Dutt mastered that’s what audiences are missing.”
He’s quick to clarify that this doesn’t mean younger filmmakers need to mimic the past. “Mohit Suri made a modern film. But what he brought back was conviction the kind of belief in a story, an emotion, that connects deeply with viewers. That’s what the masters did.”
In a digital-first age where creators often chase virality, Pandit believes the focus must return to audience-first storytelling. “When you’re only trying to please an algorithm, you risk losing touch with your real audience. But Saiyyara has shown that heart-led narratives still matter. And if you look at social media, there’s a clear appetite for films that speak to those emotions.”
As Saiyyara continues to strike a chord, it seems the Hindi film industry may be tuning back into its most timeless theme love, set to music.
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