Filmmaker Mohit Suri’s Aashiqui 2 stormed the Indian box office in 2013, earning recognition for its raw portrayal of romance and soulful songs that still strike a chord with viewers. It gave the industry three stars — Aditya Roy Kapur, Shraddha Kapoor and Arijit Singh.

Almost a decade later, Yash Raj Films-backed Pathaan rejuvenated Bollywood following the Covid-19-induced slump, marking Shah Rukh Khan’s return to the big screen with a box office juggernaut.

The one thing common between these two blockbusters and the recently released romance drama Saiyaara is how they ditched the pre-release promotional circus, an unconventional approach that kept the intrigue alive, say market experts.

There were no extravagant music launch events, no appearances on chat shows by the Saiyaara cast, and no Instagram collabs with influencers. Instead, the makers dropped the trailer online and let the film do the rest of the job upon its release.

Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta called this approach a “genius” move.

“Whoever took the decision at YRF to keep the lead pair of Saiyaara away from all the pre-release interviews, appearances and podcasts is a genius. They kept alive the freshness exclusively for the big screen. And look at how it’s worked,” Gupta wrote on X.

When Pathaan released in 2023, the makers followed a similar approach. YRF ditched interviews and promotional events ahead of the release — it was a risk considering the star power of Shah Rukh and the fact that Pathaan marked his return to the big screen after a four-year break.

But the move paid off, and the Siddharth Anand directorial smashed records, earning over Rs 1,000 crore worldwide.

Aditya and Shraddha — not popular faces in Bollywood back in 2013 — were kept away from the limelight ahead of Aashiqui 2 release. The promotions were solely based on music and a trailer that was good enough to pique interest.

Made on a budget of Rs 15 crore, Aashiqui 2 earned over Rs 100 crore worldwide.

For Saiyaara, directed by Aashiqui 2 helmer Mohit Suri, the makers also steered away from promotions on social media.

Ananya Panday’s cousin Ahaan Panday, who made his big Bollywood debut with the film, did not even have a verified Instagram account until Saiyaara hit screens.

And despite the lack of promotions, Saiyaara earned over Rs 270 crore at the domestic box office in two weeks, emerging as one of the highest grossers of 2025 — with unfamiliar faces as stars, a director with an expertise in bringing eternal romance to life, and music that broke records globally.

YRF CEO Akshaye Widhani said in a recent interview to ANI that it was a deliberate decision to keep the lead pair of Saiyaara away from the limelight. In fact, the makers did not even want the actors to be judged on the basis of their social media persona ahead of the film’s release, he said.

The decision of keeping the two newcomers away from public attention before the film’s release was taken after discussion with YRF’s Aditya Chopra and Widhani, Suri told Just Too Filmy.

Suri’s statement about how Saiyaara could have been Aashiqui 3 was a masterstroke that built more intrigue and anticipation ahead of the film’s release.

Saiyaara revolves around a struggling singer Krish Kapoor (Ahaan Panday), who crosses paths with a struggling lyricist Vaani Batra (Aneet Padda). As they collab on a song, sparks fly and the duo fall in love. However, Vaani is soon diagnosed with early onset of Alzheimer’s disease, which threatens to disrupt the flow of their relationship.