Mohit Suri Reveals SHOCKING Blackmail Over Saiyaara: ‘Going To Write A Bad Review Unless…’ | Bollywood News

Last Updated:August 14, 2025, 14:59 IST

Mohit Suri reveals he was blackmailed for positive reviews after Saiyaara’s success.

Director Mohit Suri, riding high on the ₹500 crore success of Saiyaara, has made shocking revelations about the industry’s darker side.

Mohit Suri’s Saiyaara has emerged as a runaway success, raking in over ₹500 crore and cementing itself as one of the year’s biggest cinematic surprises. The romantic drama not only introduced fresh faces Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda to audiences but also breathed new life into Suri’s career — a career that, by his own admission, had been on shaky ground since the failure of Ek Villain Returns.

In a candid conversation with Faridoon Shahryar on YouTube, Suri opened up about how the industry had “written him off” after his last film’s underperformance, only for Saiyaara to rattle the very same people. “A couple of them called me also, saying, ‘We are going to write a bad review unless you…’ I’m like, ‘Write it, I won’t read it’. I’ll make a film, you have a right to watch it or not watch it. Same way, you make your content, I won’t read it,” he said, recalling how certain individuals — some of whom he considered friends — even attempted to blackmail him for positive reviews.

Suri also addressed the viral audience reaction videos from Saiyaara screenings, where viewers were seen fainting, screaming, and cheering. These, he said, couldn’t be faked: “It’s difficult to ‘lie’ about having a physical reaction to a film. My mentor Mahesh Bhatt always told me to aim for that. You can lie in a review, but not about what you feel in the moment.”

The filmmaker revealed that this skepticism towards reviews is long-standing. “The press never spoke about us,” he said, pointing to Aashiqui 2 as an example of a major hit that was overlooked by certain media circles. Now, ahead of every release, he deletes all his social media accounts to avoid bias and noise. “I stay away because I don’t know which one is genuine and which one is not. Some of them are my friends, and I know that they charge money for it,” he explained.

Interestingly, Saiyaara had its roots in the planned Aashiqui 3, but creative differences between rival production houses prompted a pivot. It was Yash Raj Films’ Aditya Chopra who encouraged Suri to turn the story into an entirely new film and to cast newcomers in the lead roles. “Aditya not only believed in me but pushed me to make Saiyaara with fresh faces,” Suri shared.

The gamble paid off. Today, Saiyaara stands as a testament to Suri’s resilience — a film that silenced doubters, launched two promising actors, and reaffirmed his place in the industry. And, as those ecstatic theatre reactions proved, no amount of press coverage can substitute for the raw, unfiltered connection between a movie and its audience.

Yatamanyu Narain

Yatamanyu Narain is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for all things entertainment. Whether he’s breaking the latest Bollywood news or chatting with rising stars in the OTT world, he’s always on the hun…Read More

Yatamanyu Narain is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for all things entertainment. Whether he’s breaking the latest Bollywood news or chatting with rising stars in the OTT world, he’s always on the hun… Read More