Saiyaara (transl. Wandering star) is a 2025 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film directed by Mohit Suri. Produced by Yash Raj Films, it is loosely based on the 2004 South Korean film A Moment to Remember. It stars debutant Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda in the lead roles of a singer-songwriter duo who fall in love. Originally planned as a spiritual sequel to Suri's Aashiqui 2, creative differences led to the project being reworked into a standalone film under Yash Raj Films.
Saiyaara was released theatrically on 18 July 2025 to positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for Panday and Padda's performances, story, Suri's direction, and its soundtrack. A major commercial success, the film grossed over ₹5.79 billion (US$60 million) worldwide, emerging as the third highest-grossing Hindi film of 2025, and the highest-grossing Indian romantic film of all time.
Plot
Vaani is waiting to marry her college boyfriend, Mahesh at the courthouse with her parents and younger brother. Over a phone call, Mahesh informs her that he is abandoning her for the daughter of a wealthy businessman, prioritising his career over their relationship. Devastated, Vaani faints and subsequently withdraws into depression, isolating herself for months and abandoning her passion for writing.
Krish Kapoor, an aspiring musician struggling to establish himself, copes with childhood trauma and anger through music. Prone to emotional outbursts, he faces setbacks in his career, including clashes with journalists and disputes with his band members. His best friend KV supports the band financially, despite the strain it places on his own education. Krish encounters Vaani when he returns her poetry notebook she accidentally left while applying for a job as a writer at a publishing house where he assaults a journalist, and is immediately drawn to the honesty and depth of her work.
Though initially wary of Krish due to his erratic nature, Vaani agrees to collaborate with him on a song for hip-hop singer Prince. When she experiences creative difficulties, Krish discovers torn pages from her notebook, recognising her inner struggles. To help her, he takes her to a cricket playground, a place of solace for him. Inspired by his focus, Vaani gradually resumes writing. Their collaboration grows into a friendship as they spend more time together, with Vaani regaining her confidence and Krish finding stability in her presence.
Their bond deepens after Krish confronts his alcoholic father, with whom he became estranged after his mother's death. Vaani comforts him by opening up about her own heartache, and later encourages him to admit his father into rehabilitation. After completing their project, on which Krish is forced to cede all credit to pay for his father's rehab, he distances himself, believing Vaani deserves better. However, they soon reunite at Prince's concert, acknowledging their feelings for each other, and begin an intimate relationship. Krish reconciles with his band, and he and Vaani continue working together.
Vaani's parents, particularly her mother, grow concerned upon witnessing Krish's closeness to their daughter, fearing he may hurt her as Mahesh once did. The stress causes Vaani to collapse again, after which her mother questions Krish at the hospital about his intentions. When he promises commitment, her parents reluctantly approve of the relationship.
The couple's lives change dramatically when Vaani is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Signs of memory loss become apparent, including a public breakdown during an encounter with Mahesh after he acquires Vaani's workplace. Krish abandons his work commitments to care for her, assuring her that he will remain by her side regardless of her condition. On medical advice, Vaani's parents consider a change of environment for her new routine. Krish takes her to a guesthouse in Alibaug, where they create new memories together.
At a later concert, Mahesh attempts to sexually exploit Vaani's vulnerability during an episode of confusion. Krish intervenes, but Vaani, unable to recognise him, reacts fearfully and stabs his right arm after he beats Mahesh, experiencing an even worse breakdown. Back at their guesthouse, Krish's father reconciles with him, urging him not to repeat his mistakes.
In a quiet moment, Krish plays a tune on the piano. Vaani loves it and offers to write the words. With her Alzheimer's worsening, she mistakenly calls him by Mahesh's name.
Krish then leaves to inform his crew that he is quitting the band to support Vaani. When he returns, he finds out that Vaani has disappeared. He later finds her diary with lyrics to the song she had titled "Saiyaara". Krish records and releases it in her memory, and the song becomes a global hit, propelling him to fame. He reconciles with his band and continues to carry Vaani's writings with him while performing around India.
Over a year later, KV discovers a viral fan video showing Vaani in Manali. Krish travels there and locates Vaani at an ashram, where he receives a letter explaining she left to avoid hindering his career after remembering what happened at the concert, but admits she continued to follow his music from afar.
When Krish reunites with her, Vaani no longer recognises him and is beginning to shut herself off from the world. He reminds her of their shared memories, including their first moments at the cricket playground. Slowly, fragments of her memory return, and she ultimately recalls their love. The film concludes with Krish performing at Wembley Stadium, with Vaani by his side as they marry, signifying their reunion through love, music, and memory. Vaani resumes writing as she reflects on her wedding with Krish.
Production
The film was officially announced by Yash Raj Films, with Mohit Suri signed as the director. The film's screenplay was penned by Sankalp Sadanah, with dialogues written by Rohan Shankar. The technical crew included cinematographer Vikas Sivaraman, alongside editors Rohit Makwana and Devendra Murdeshwa. Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda were cast in the lead roles.For the film's female lead, Suri stressed that he wanted an actress who had not undergone any cosmetic procedures. Principal photography began in September 2024 and concluded in March 2025, taking place in Mumbai, Goa, Manali, and Alibag.
The end credits scene of "Saiyaara" was shot in a single day, according to a post from Bollywood Hungama and was a last-minute addition to the film and shot less than a month before the film's release.
In an interview, Suri revealed that the project was initially envisioned by him as a possible third installment in the Aashiqui franchise, but it did not materialize with its producers. Inspired by the Netflix documentary series The Romantics, he began developing the story—titled Saiyaara—independently. However, Akshaye Widhani, the CEO of Yash Raj Films, later came on board to produce and back the film under the YRF banner.
Soundtrack
The music album consists of 7 songs, composed by Mithoon, Sachet–Parampara, Rishabh Kant (The Rish), Vishal Mishra, Tanishk Bagchi, Faheem Abdullah, and Arslan Nizami, with lyrics written by Irshad Kamil, Mithoon, Rishabh Kant and Raj Shekhar. The film score was composed by John Stewart Eduri, replacing Suri's regular collaborator Raju Singh. The vocals were provided by Arijit Singh, Jubin Nautiyal, Shreya Ghoshal, Shilpa Rao, Vishal Mishra, Sachet-Parampara, Faheem Abdullah and Hansika Pareek. The soundtrack album was released on 4 July 2025.
Theatrical
The film was cleared with a U/A 16+ certificate from the CBFC after the deletion of 10 seconds of intimate visuals, the replacement of objectionable words in four instances, and the addition of a static helmet safety disclaimer for two-wheeler scenes. Saiyaara was released theatrically on 18 July 2025.
Box office
Saiyaara grossed approximately ₹409.18 crore (US$42 million) domestically and ₹167.05 crore (US$17 million) overseas, for a worldwide gross of ₹579.23 crore (US$60 million). Trade analysts reported that the film achieved a return on investment (ROI) of over 640%, having been produced on a budget of just ₹45 crore (US$4.7 million). The film's box office performance has been described as unprecedented by many trade experts, with The Indian Express noting that it stood out "at a time when films are struggling to break even, especially the ones starring new faces or debutantes".
The film had a record-breaking opening day, collecting ₹28.75 crore (US$3.4 million) worldwide, marking the highest opening for a Hindi film featuring a debutant male lead. Its opening weekend was strong across India, especially in urban multiplexes, with ₹83 crore (US$10 million) net earned domestically and over ₹119 crore (US$14 million) globally. By the end of its first week, Saiyaara had collected between ₹172.5 crore and ₹175.25 crore (US$20–21 million) net in India, and approximately ₹250.5 crore (US$30 million) worldwide, surpassing Ek Villain to become the highest-grossing film of Mohit Suri's career. On its eighth day, the film maintained momentum, earning ₹17.5 crore (US$2.1 million) net. On 26 July 2025 (its ninth day), it crossed the ₹200 crore (US$24 million) milestone domestically with an additional ₹15.3 crore (US$1.8 million), becoming the second fastest Hindi film of 2025 to enter the ₹200 crore club. The film crossed the ₹300 crore mark on its ninth day. Its total stood at ₹220.75 crore net in India and ₹327.74 crore worldwide by the end of day ten. By this point, Saiyaara had already outperformed the lifetime totals of Raid 2, Sitaare Zameen Par and Housefull 5 becoming the second highest-grossing Hindi film of 2025 as well as the third highest-grossing Indian film of the year, behind only Chhaava. This made it the second-biggest opening week for a Hindi release in 2025, behind Chhaava. By its twelfth day of release, the film had earned an estimated ₹270.75 crore (US$32 million) net in India, with a domestic gross of ₹319.5 crore (US$38 million). Its overseas earnings stood at ₹86 crore (US$10.8 million), bringing its total worldwide gross to ₹404 crore (US$48 million), surpassing Kabir Singh as the highest-grossing Indian romantic film of all time. Within thirteen days, it had climbed to become the 22nd highest-grossing Hindi film of all time, surpassing RRR and Dhoom 3.
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 63% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.1/10.
The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with the lead performances and soundtrack garnering the most praise. Bollywood Hungama gave 4.5 out of 5 stars and described it as "a stirring musical saga" that was elevated by Mohit Suri's deft direction, heartfelt romance, chart-topping music, and the stellar performances of its debutant leads. Rishabh Suri of the Hindustan Times gave 3.5/5 stars and opined that while the story did not break new ground, it struck the right emotional chords, understood its audience, and delivered with sincerity, adding that "sometimes, that is more than enough". Vineeta Kumar of India Today gave 3.5/5 stars and found the film entertaining, emotional, and musical: a cinematic piece where the flaws were visible but the heart shone through.
Other critics were more reserved, pointing out the familiar storyline and uneven pacing. Radhika Sharma of NDTV gave 3/5 stars, summarising the plot as "as old as time": a bad boy meets a good girl, sparks fly, heartbreak and sacrifice follow, and then a reunion, but acknowledged Mohit Suri's strong command over heartbreak. Vinamra Mathur of Firstpost gave 3/5 stars and noted that while the love story was messy and imperfect, the lead actors sailed through it with conviction. Kusumika Das of Times Now gave 2.5/5 stars and felt the film aimed for the stars but only touched the clouds; the soul of the film lay in the performances, with occasional flashes of classic Mohit Suri magic in lines like "Mera na hona, tumhare bade hone ka wajah banega". Aishwarya Vasudevan of OTTplay gave 3/5 stars and wrote that the film did not reinvent the wheel of romance but made it spin with heart, with the harmony between the leads hitting the right notes. Jaya Dwivedie of India TV gave 3/5 stars and described the film as a slow-paced love story that tried to reach the audience's hearts despite its unfamiliarity and incompleteness.
