By the time Ahaan Panday had his special screening of Saiyaara at the YRF preview theatre at 6pm, he was already a craze and director Mohit Suri who had his show scheduled for 9pm had received a heap of praise. With mom Deanne’s best friends like Bipasha Basu and youngsters like Ibrahim Ali Khan around, it was vibrant and festive. Cousin Ananya shed tears of joy and flaunted an Ahaan Panday Fan badge. Sis and social media influencer Alanna’s husband Ivor had his camera out, recording every moment. Baby River was present too, asleep in his stroller, while there was cheer all over.
In this blockbuster atmosphere, one person who deserves to be celebrated is YRF’s casting director Shanoo Sharma (niece of 80s’ actor Romesh Sharma and cousin to Neil Nitin Mukesh). She goes beyond ferreting raw talent like Ranveer Singh, Ahaan and Aneet Padda, and does some serious handholding as newcomers go through their insecurities and emotional outbursts.
When pretty Aneet Padda was overwhelmed by the compliments and burst into tears, it was Shanoo’s comforting shoulders that she buried her face in until she could turn around and smile through the next round of congratulations.
As Panday parivar posts have spotlighted, missing the most was Ahaan’s beloved Dadi, Dr Snehlata Panday, who passed away in 2021. It was Dadi — once known as Rekha’s slimming guru — who dreamt of superstardom for Ahaan, her only grandson, ever since he was a little boy. She would take Ahaan and Alanna, and sometimes Ananya, to the movies every Friday, and give them shopping money, the highpoint of their outings. At Slimelle, her slimming and beauty parlour, she would have a havan twice a year, her birthday and the parlour’s anniversary. The grandkids were always a part of it with Pandit Namdevji of the Arya Samaj performing every puja for the family.
One particular year, during the birthday havan, the panditji asked Dr Panday her age. She glibly fibbed about it, prompting Ahaan to exclaim, “What lies, Dadi.” There were giggles all around but it was the sporting Dadi herself who repeated the incident to everybody, amused and indulgent over Ahaan’s naughtiness. That naughtiness is still to be captured on screen.
Some have also wondered why Saiyaara didn’t display his dancing skills. But that’s just it. Unlike old-fashioned filmmakers who force situations to flaunt the hero’s multi skills at one go — fight, dance, sing, romance, dramatic outbursts — Adi and Mohit stuck to their story and presented Ahaan to suit the character of Krish Kapoor. But in real life, Ahaan has a mix of warmth and charm, which spills out from the screen. It’s one of the countless reasons why his debut is on such a record-breaking spree that Ajay Devgn decided to step back, postpone his Son of Sardaar 2 by a week. Being a filmmaker and the owner of NY Cinemas, Ajay understands screen mathematics from both sides, from a producer’s and from a theatre owner’s point of view.
But there’s almost a karmic connection between YRF and the Son of Sardaar franchise. In the Diwali week of 2012, they had clashed bitterly, Devgn alleging unfair business ethics when YRF’s Jab Tak Hai Jaan got a larger number of screens. In the intervening years, there’s been such a change that goodwill and mutual respect have grown between Devgn and Adi. Few know that before Mohit Suri stepped into YRF, Adi had tried to launch Ahaan a couple of times. One of them was a film in which YRF and Devgn would join hands and make a superhero film. It didn’t materialise and the long wait turned out to be a blessing for Ahaan. But, to discuss their historic coming together, Adi had done the unthinkable. He’d stepped out of his studio and, as a show of respect, had made a rare visit to Shivshakti, the landmark Devgn bungalow in Juhu.
Changed equations make heartwarming stories.
