If you are still unaware of the avalanche of Saiyaara-related reels over the past week, flashlit auditorium singalongs and Instagram stories of youngsters losing their bearings at the theatres, chances are you’ve either been living under a rock or gone too deep inside the Coldplay jumbotron rabbit hole.

Because right now, Saiyaara is not just a film — it’s a cultural moment. In the last few days, there has been one question that would have invariably come your way: “Have you watched Saiyaara yet?”

FOMO may (or may not) have hit you, but there is no way you could have evaded the flood of Instagram Reels showing crowds all over the country going berserk in theatres screening the Mohit Suri musical love story that has made overnight stars out of its young debutants.

Crowds are milling outside theatres big and small and cinegoers are spilling out of their seats going gaga over Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda. In what is a first in 25 years, they are doing much more. Fans are dancing, laughing, dissolving into sobs, screaming their lungs out and ripping apart their clothes while watching the film, a love story from the Yash Raj Films stable.

Instagram Reels that have swiftly gone viral show GenZers fainting during scenes, singing along tearfully with Ahaan’s lover boy rock star Krish Kapoor, cheering on Aneet’s Vaani as she crosses every hurdle that keeps her away from Krish.

Switching on their cellphone flashlights to turn audis screening Saiyaara into stadiums is par for the course. What isn’t is youngsters dropping on one knee and proposing to their partners in the middle of the film or a man walking in with an IV drip as a preventative measure against the “emotional stress” that watching the tragic romance could potentially cause. The Saiyaara party has taken over, and everyone is invited.

“Saiyaara is unshakeable, unstoppable and continues to rewrite the record books,” is the word from senior trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

Released on July 25, with hype building for the film in the days leading up to it,Saiyaara — the story of a couple torn asunder by fatebut eventually brought together by love — has opened big(it registered an all-timehighest opening weekend ever for a romantic film) andgrew bigger, with its box-office collections till Wednesday night in India alone being ₹155.75-crore.

Globally, Saiyaara sits pretty on the record of the highest weekend for a Bollywood film starring debutants. Such has been the impact of the film that right after its opening day, Ajay Devgn — a veteran in the business with over 30 years as actor, producer and director — pushed back the release of his franchise comedy film Son of Sardaar 2 by a week.

“We haven’t seen this kind of a crazy crowd for a film starring rank newcomers for a very long time. I have seen the same set of friends and couples coming in more than once since last Friday to watch the film. Many are sitting and crying in their seats long after the end-credits have rolled, while others are holding on to their partners and singing along to the songs. It feels like a true carnival,” said an employee of a Calcutta-based multiplex chain.

“Watching Saiyaara in the theatre was nothing short of a delightful experience. The standout feature of the film is, undoubtedly, its music. The songs are steeped in emotion and passion. After years, Bollywood has finally delivered a proper romantic film that captures the essence of love in its purest form. Saiyaara portrays every stage of a relationship — from the excitement of new beginnings to the complexities that follow. Not a single moment felt dull or disconnected and every scene held my attention,” said 23-year-old Esha Kamila, who spotted many a tear in the audi she was in, long after the curtains came down.

In what feels like a case of redux, 25 years ago a new lead pair — particularly the male debutant — burst into Bollywood and not only delivered an instant blockbuster, but also became the craze of the entire nation.

The humongous success of Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai gave us a heartthrob in the form of Hrithik Roshan that fans — predominantly women, but also many men — couldn’t have enough of. His good looks, easy charm, gravity-defying dance skills, coupled with the film’s chartbuster music, fresh romance and scenic locations, made Hrithik the kind of debutant whose every move was followed, every gesture emulated, every dance step copied. Hrithik, more than two decades later, is one of Hindi cinema’s top stars.

It has taken a quarter of a century to match up to, and now even surpass, the Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai craze. Saiyaara has worked because of multiple factors. One is the fact that it presents a pure love story featuring an age-appropriate pair after a long time. According to many fans who have liked it, the film is striking a chord, especially with women, because “it doesn’t romanticise rage, toxicity and cruelty in love”.

Its love ballads have also become a big hit, with the album breaching the Top Seven Songs of the World mark on the Spotify Global Top 50 chart. The decision of the marketing team to keep its debutants away from the public eye in an age of extreme over-exposure has also piqued interest around Ahaan and Aneet. Their chemistry and on-screen presence have taken many by surprise.Despite being debutants, both actors carry the emotional weight of the story with surprising ease.

The craze for Saiyaara is showing up even outside movie theatres. Old videos of Ahaan dancing at his sister’s wedding, his actress-cousin Ananya Panday for company, have flooded the Internet. Fan-made videos suggesting possible sequel “plots” to “Saiyaara 2” have surfaced by the dozen on YouTube. And the question among most has changed from “Have you watched Saiyaara yet?” to “When are we watching it again?”