New Delhi, 21 July

Mohit Suri's romantic drama ‘Saiyaara’, featuring debutant Ahaan Pandey and actor Aneet Padda, grossed Rs 119 crore in the first three days, the makers said.

The movie, which marks Pandey's big screen debut and a critically-praised turn for Padda, who previously featured in ‘Big Girls Don't Cry’ and Kajol-starrer ‘Salaam Venky’, earned Rs 101.75 (gross) and Rs 84 crore (nett) in India and brought in Rs 17.25 crore from international markets.

Helmed by Mohit Suri of ‘Ek Villain’ and ‘Aashiqui 2’ fame, the movie is produced by Yash Raj Films. Social media is filled with fans reacting strongly to the love story with many crying as the credits roll and some dancing to its songs with their friends.

The film's impressive three-day run at the box office has beat lifetime collection of other debuts of star kids like Alia Bhatt's ‘Student of the Year’ and Jahnvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khattar's ‘Dhadak’, which earned Rs 70 crore and Rs 73 crore (lifetime). Pandey is Chunky Pandey's nephew.

‘Saiyaara’ follows Krish, played by Pandey, an ambitious musician, and Vaani, played by Padda, a shy lyricist recovering from heartbreak. The chemistry of the lead pair, built through soulful songwriting sessions and raw emotional moments, is the heart of the film, reads the official logline.

‘Saiyaara’ opened with Rs 22 crore, earned Rs 26.25 crore on day two and it has made Rs 35.75 crore on day three according to Yash Raj Films in the domestic box office amounting to 84 crore. In the international box office, the film has made Rs 17.25 crore.

It is also Suri's highest opening among his other films – ‘Ek Villain’ earned Rs 16 crore on day one, ‘Aashiqui 2’ made over Rs 6 crore and ‘Murder 2’ earned almost 7 crore on the first day of their release. The film is the first and only romance movie to gross over Rs 100 crore in its opening weekend.

The film is among the highest grossing opening weekend alongside films like Vicky Kaushal's ‘Chhava’ (Rs 122.43 crore), Salman Khan's ‘Sikandar’ (Rs 90.25 crore) and Akshay Kumar's ensemble comedy ‘Housefull 5’ (Rs 91.83 crore).

Yash Raj Films have requested exhibitors to not hike ticket prices in order to keep them accessible for the youth supporting the film.

The production house has kept both Pandey and Padda away from the promotions of the film.

The music of ‘Saiyaara’, which features seven songs composed by Mithoon, Sachet-Parampara, Tanishk Bagchi, Rishabh Kant, Vishal Mishra, Faheem Abdullah and Arslan Nisami, is already a chartbuster.

Alongside Pandey and Padda, the romance also stars Geeta Agarwal, Rajesh Kumar, Varun Badola and Shaad Randhawa in key roles.