Mohit Suri Called Mahesh Bhatt at 6am to Talk About The Father-son Scene in Saiyaara

Since the past two decades, Mohit Suri has enjoyed a successful career in Bollywood, starting when he was 22 years old. His recent film, Saiyaara, featuring newcomers Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, has achieved huge success, becoming the second highest grossing film of the year and the 24th highest-grossing Hindi film, crossing Kartik Aaryan’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. Throughout this journey, he has often been accompanied by his uncle, Mahesh Bhatt.

It has been over a decade since they last worked together on a film. In a recent interview, Mohit shared his thoughts regarding his relationship with his uncle, stating that, “I talk to him all the time. I messaged him on father’s day also, I was in Japan at that time. He had written a really nice article about his relationship with Raj Khosla Saab who was his mentor, and the article was about the mentor-protégé relationship. He sent me that article, I have framed it in my office.” 

Mohit Suri mentioned that Mahesh Bhatt does not participate in the daily operational aspects of filmmaking. He said, “He doesn’t believe shooting is directing films. He believes in shaping a personality and a voice in you.” According to Mohit Suri, this philosophy is what has helped filmmakers such as Anurag Basu, Kunal Deshmukh, Vikram Bhatt, and himself to develop unique cinematic identities under the guidance of Mahesh Bhatt. He shared, “It’s like he sharpens every diamond separately, a different polishing process for each of us, and then let us shine in our own way.”

Recalling a crucial father-son confrontation scene in Saiyaara, specifically the scene where Ahaan becomes violent with his father, played by Varun Badola, Mohit Suri confessed to feeling unsure about the tone he was about to establish. He recalled, “Am I getting too dramatic? Too dark? 

At 6 in the morning, he called up Mahesh Bhatt, saying, “I didn’t even tell him anything about the scene. I just said, I’m feeling afraid.” In the signature Mahesh Bhatt response, he noticed Mohit’s WhatsApp display picture of his hand holding his son’s, saying, “If you have a picture like this as your DP, you can never shoot this scene wrong. Because you love that relationship.” 

Mohit shared that it was all the reassurance he needed, and ended up filming the scene in the film, which turned out to be just like he envisioned. Saiyaara, has been riding the success wave lately, being a roaring success at the box office. 

Also Read: Birthday Special: We Take A Look At Mohit Suri’s Best Movies