As his directorial Aashiqui 2 clocked in 13 years on (April 26), Mohit Suri revisited the journey of the film that lives in the heart of the audiences.

Getting emotional about this milestone, Mohit told Mumbai Mirror, “I think the reason this film has resonated for so many years is because all of us who worked on this film — Aditya Roy Kapur, Shraddha Kapoor, the music directors and me — we all were at that stage of our careers where we were not chasing success but we had something to say emotionally. We had seen failure. Mithoon (singer-composer) and I had success with Murder 2, but Aditya and Shraddha wanted to prove themselves as they had not seen success despite being part of big films. Ankit Tiwari, who was new, sang the song Sun Raha Hai Na Tu. Jeet Ganguly (singer) was trying to do something outside his comfort zone.”

Reflecting on the phase they were all in at that time, Mohit said, “All of us went out with the intention of doing something we had never done. The pressure of the success of Aashiqui 1 was upon us, but we all went out to make a good film. Success was the cherry on the cake. I believe that when you say something with your heart, the world listens.”

He further added, “Every year no matter what happens and where she is, Shraddha always messages me on this day. We might miss our birthdays by a day or two, but we never miss this day and we thank each other for where we are today.”

“I don’t think my romantic films fit into the quintessential romantic mould,” says Mohit Suri, distancing himself from the song-and-dance template often associated with Hindi love stories. “Some of my biggest songs, like Tum Hi Ho, aren’t lip-synced. I don’t have dance numbers either. I don’t know where I fit in – it’s just my way of expressing love.”

Yet films like Saiyyara (2025), which left youngsters teary-eyed in cinemas last year, have revived the mainstream appetite for intense love stories. During his recent visit to Delhi, where he received the All India Management Association (AIMA) award for Director of the Year, he decoded love stories in a chat with us.

​Ask what he felt as a director when he saw reels coming in showing youngsters crying after watching Saiyyara, and he shares, “I’ve never been able to analyse it. I don’t know what I have or what I did that made people cry.”

After a pause, he reflects, “But I remember Pooja Bhatt telling me this very early in my career – that if anyone has been able to touch my heart, other than my father, in the films he makes, it’s you. You’ve that in you, and it’s very rare. Mahesh Bhatt also told me that.”

He elaborates, “I never went out to shoot a scene thinking, ‘In this scene, I will make you cry.’ I’ve never been able to do that. And I am not that kind of filmmaker who knows how the audience is going to react.”

​A clip went viral from a round-table discussion when everyone was talking about when they last watched a film in a cinema hall, and he turned around to his fellows and asked, “Don’t you guys go to the theatre?”

He says it was more of a surprise to him, adding, “My TV is huge. I have about a 100-inch TV at home. It’s a great experience. I’ve got great sound. Even in my office, I have a theatre, but it’s still not the theatre, because I don’t have 100 more people watching the film with me together. Humans like to watch entertainment in groups.”

He explains, “Look at cricket. Why do stadiums still get filled? Maybe not so much for a Test match, but for T20. So theatres will still get full. It’s just that the game is no longer a Test match – it’s more like T20. So the kind of content we put in theatres has to change. We can complain that people are not going to theatres, or we can get up and do something about it.”

​Are there any particular elements for a good love story? Suri explains, “In a basic love story, I think what essentially has to work is – it’s not about what’s on the page. It’s about what magic you bring about on the set. Because a love story is very simple on the page. They don’t have the thrill of lots of twists and turns or action. So it’s like — there is nothing on the page; it’s just written: he looks at her. But the way he looks at her — that is the magic.”

Citing a scene from Saiyaara, Mohit says, “Nobody reacted when I told them she takes Mahesh’s name. They were just like, ‘Oh, that’s sad.’ But the way they reacted in the theatres – people burst out crying. More than that, moviegoers cried in the last scene when they got married. And that’s a happy scene. Why were they crying there? It is because they felt validated that this girl who had left had come back. So I think that’s the magic you create on the set.” Suri believes that for love stories, “we just have to live the emotion.”

He elaborates, “That’s the only thing. You have to live with the actors; they’re living with the characters. In thrillers, you can cheat – you can use a different camera angle but in love stories, you have to bring out an emotion.”

At 38, Arijit Singh recently stunned fans and the Hindi film industry by announcing his retirement from playback singing. While several have expressed what they feel about Arijit’s choice, we spoke to Mohit Suri, whose films have consistently featured quintessential Arijit Singh songs, dating back to Aashiqui 2 and the iconic Tum Hi Ho. Composed by Mithoon, the song launched Arijit into stardom 13 years ago and defined his voice as synonymous with love and heartbreak. Suri last worked with him on Dhun from Saiyaara.

​On Arijit’s retirement from playback singing, Mohit said the decision didn’t surprise him. “I sensed it. He had reached a stage where he wanted to do more and not box himself into just one identity. You can’t limit his creativity. He doesn’t want to be remembered only as Arijit, the singer,” he said.

On a personal note, Mohit admits he is deeply disappointed, saying that a part of him feels like it has ended with the announcement.

He explains, “I don’t think Indian music can exist without Arijit. People see this as a full stop, but he’s not done yet. I’ve known him since he was Pritam da’s assistant. People think he was just fortunate, but that’s not true. He didn’t let himself break, and success was actually delayed for him. He’s an artiste who will never stop creating. Even if Arijit the singer slows down, he’ll be far more valuable to music and cinema. Once he sets his mind to something, he achieves it.”

​As Arijit dominated Bollywood music for over a decade, speculation grew about sidelined singers, alleged monopolies and his association with “sad songs.” Mohit, however, says Arijit’s biggest strength became a limitation imposed by others.

“Your best work often becomes the monkey on your back. Arijit sang all kinds of songs — we chose to highlight his heartbreak numbers,” he says, pointing to upbeat tracks like Ullu Ka Pattha and Galti Se Mistake from Jagga Jasoos as proof of his range. “We boxed him into Tum Hi Ho or Channa Mereya kind of songs.”

Dismissing favouritism and lobbying claims, Mohit is categorical. “Arijit never insisted on singing a song. In fact, he often pushed for the scratch singer to be retained, saying the song didn’t need him. That’s how secure he is — and many singers got breaks because of that.”

​On a parting note, we ask if Arijit’s voice could ever be replaced. “Everyone is special. I was deeply attached to KK sir, but while making Aashiqui 2, I realized I couldn’t use the same voice I associated with Emraan Hashmi for Aditya Roy Kapur. We found a new voice and that was Arijit.”

He adds that with Saiyaara, he introduced Faheem Abdullah for Ahaan Panday, showing that every generation finds its own voice. “That’s the way life works. New singers must find their space, just as Arijit once did. There cannot be another Arijit Singh. We depend on him emotionally, knowing he will nail it — but if he doesn’t make way, new talent won’t emerge. He is truly one of a kind. And yes, I’ll speak to him once he reads this.”

Saiyaara has broken global records and won hearts over the past two weeks. The craze reached unprecedented levels, with people thronging the theatres, and the Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda-starrer transitioned from being a young love story to a phenomenon. On The Right Angle with Sonal Kalra this week, we got the captain of the ship, director Mohit Suri, to decode the film:

It feels good to receive this love. I have been spending time with my wife (Uditaa Goswami; actor) after the release, she’s been asking me to do household things (laughs). But I take some time for myself daily from 6.30 pm to 9 pm, as I get calls from all over the country. I’ve told her to just let me feel the love. It’s taken me 20 years to be here.

He has known me since I was a child, assisting on the sets of (Awara Paagal Deewana; 2002) with Vikram Bhatt (filmmaker). We tried to work together a couple of times, but things never fell into place. Even when Aashiqui 2 (2013) and Ek Villain (2014) had done well [he encouraged me]. He never lost faith in me. For him to come out there publicly... It’s something very few people do. What else can I ask for?

We were shooting the piano scene, when Vaani (Aneet’s character) gets Krish’s (Ahaan’s character) name wrong. The way Ahaan gave that shot, and the way Aneet spoke... that was the day. I turned to our creative producer (Sumana Ghosh) and said, “I don’t know about the fate of this film, but I know we are making a great one”. When Adi sir (Aditya Chopra, producer) saw the movie in its loosest form, he said, “No matter how much this opens at, it’s going to do at least Rs. 100 crore”. I was in class eight when I saw his movie Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) in the theatre. I said, “This is the kind of film I want to make someday”. For him to say this... that’s what an experienced producer should do. That’s when we felt we were making something special. While the collections are most welcome, this love is something I really wanted.

Even a filmmaker who has delivered many hits over his 20-year career can be anxious and nervous ahead of a film’s release. Director Mohit Suri, whose Saiyaara hit the screens on July 18, says he feels an enhanced sense of responsibility with the film.

He reasons, “My actors are new. This is my first collaboration with a company [Yash Raj Films] that is known for their love stories. I was always the youngest one on the set when I started out. Now I am a grown-up, shouldering people who bank on me.”

Suri is telling a love story of a young musician and a lyricist with the film that launches Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda in Bollywood. He remembers producer Aditya Chopra telling him early on that the love story needed new faces. How did he end up zeroing in on Panday and Padda?

“Ahaan was doing something with YRF before, which didn’t work out. I met him a couple of times, and his audition wasn’t working for me. I was going to meet him and say no. So, we went for a last dinner. That turned out to be a mad, raging night, where he was no longer trying to impress me. That’s when I saw the real him and saw the character come alive. I told him to stop calling me sir; he got into a bro-zone with me. When he stopped pretending to be somebody, I found the magic in him. For the girl, I went through a lot of people and a lot of rejection. Some really good options came to me, but I wanted a girl who comes from a Punjabi background – a city girl with middle-class values. It was after four months that I found Aneet.”

In March, mid-day reported about the similarities between the plots of Saiyaara and filmmaker Anurag Basu’s yet-untitled next with Kartik Aaryan (Many renditions of a rockstar’s romance, March 6). Both films look at how heartbreak influences a musician’s journey.

Ask Suri about the similarities, and he says, “I’m very close to Dada [Basu]. I have worked as an assistant [to him]. So, I met him when he called. He has the right to do that. I went and narrated this film to him. He had started his film and I had finished mine by then. He didn’t seem worried in the least. There was a Rockstar [2011] being made when I was making Aashiqui 2 [2013]. This is not Interstellar [2014] that we would worry about."

Suri had his own challenges in the film, one to live up to his own expectations and secondly to save himself from self- censoring. He says, "You know, there's a really interesting scene in the film where he gets violent with his own father. And I remember while coming in one day I saw Yash ji's statue outside. I called Mahesh Bhatt. I said, 'There's a scene that I'm shooting in the film. And this is a really good production house and I might be pushing (the envelope) too much. Maybe my morality is different, but the father and son in my film are getting violent with each other in the middle of the road'. It's emotional for me because I didn't realize my DP profile was a picture of my hand with my son's hand. And he said that, 'I know what your relation with your father was, and seeing your DP picture I know where it comes from. No matter what you do better, I know you wont get this scene morally wrong. Don't question yourself. I think the morality of the filmmaker cannot be to be agreeable. The audience will always get the honesty of a maker'."

Commerce is a big aspect of a Mohit Suri movie. "You need to make money for people to keep making films. I've been on the film set since I was 17 and I'm 44 today. More than 50% of my life, I've spent on set. I've been directing for 20 years. I have to keep giving that box office so called successes so that I can keep making films for the rest of my life."

We ask him what he thinks is broken in the system that films are not making money? "I think that there needs to be a certain discipline in how much we make a movie. The budgets of it. The problem is creative people are thinking about economics. And economics people are thinking creatively. I find at get-togethers, people talk either about fashion or business. No one's talking about a story. When we were young and our seniors got into parties, they spoke about art. I think now they talk about business and tie ups and profitability. So I think we need to bring the art back. Money will follow."

Filmmaker Mohit Suri may have the heart of a wanderer, but it doesn't overpower the quiet certainty of his mind. His confidence in desi stories and his craft doesn't necessarily roar, but he knows its worth. In many ways, he exudes the vulnerable and headstrong side of Madhav Jha, the lead character of his upcoming film Half Girlfriend (HG), which is based on Chetan Bhagat's bestseller. Mohit lets BT in on his innate vagabond sensibility that subconsciously inspires his intense emotional dramas...

It's common to bash Chetan Bhagat's books, but they continue to sell and inspire filmmakers...
There are not just literature students who write books, there are also storytellers who tell stories. For example, Buddha didn't speak in a divine language. He spoke Pali, which was the common man's tongue. It's not as if Chetan doesn't know what he is doing. I have read almost all his books and I could relate to them. Half our literary experts are inspired by foreign literature, so their stories are rarely about us. Even Indian filmmakers are inspired by Hollywood. We often aspire to be someone we are not, but Chetan has no such pretences. You can agree or disagree with his story, but you can't ignore it.

What made you adapt this book into a film?
I wanted to make a movie on Five Point Someone, but Chetan had already sold the rights to Rajkumar Hirani (3 Idiots, 2009). After Aashiqui 2 (2013), he suggested that we work together, and he felt that HG was the kind of story that I'll be able to do justice to.

HG is relevant to our times when English language has become a yardstick that defines class...
Even in Bollywood, actors who cannot speak Hindi are popular, but those who cannot speak English are considered low grade. You readily accept an NRI or a foreigner just because they are pretty, even if you need to dub their voice. If a French person speaks bad English with a French accent, you don't mind, but an Indian speaking English with a Hindi accent is unacceptable. We are still suffering from a colonial hangover. English is not just a language in India. It's amazing to see how people who have lived here all along flaunt American accent just because they've studied in the US for four years.

After 2 States, this is the second film based on Chetan Bhagat's book starring Arjun Kapoor. What made you choose him?
I have an emotional connect with Arjun. I don't look at him as the son of a popular Bollywood producer, but as someone who has been brought up by an independent single mother. I have seen his hardships - his battle to lose weight and doing things that people said he could never do. Madhav Jha, his character in the film, is a lot like that, too. Speak to Arjun about his past relationships and he'll say, 'Dude, do you see how I used to look? Do you think I got any girls, ever?' He doesn't say it with bitterness, but humour. All these things added up to who Madhav is. Also, I cast Shraddha in Aashiqui 2 because I remember seeing her with oil in her hair, talking to her bai in Marathi. I like people who are not Bollywoodised.

Your films are deeply emotional and often have an underlying tragedy...
I wonder how some people are always so happy. As much as happiness is a part of life, love is not just about being with someone at happy times. You love a person for his/her imperfections too and that's what Aashiqui 2 was for me. Awarapan (2007) was me questioning the existence of God. I let my thoughts reflect in my films.

So, you find them therapeutic?
Yes. However, in the case of Aashiqui 2, the film turned out to be a huge success, but I lost my father around that time. The one person I wanted to share my success with was not there, so it didn't matter to me anymore. I felt incomplete. So, even if I make a thriller now, it will be about a man in search of something.

Have Udita (wife) and your daughter changed your outlook towards life?
After having a daughter, I started respecting and valuing women more. Not that I didn't respect women before, but I couldn't express in words their contribution in my life. Madhav's character helped me change that. My real self bleeds into my films and I find closure after that. I lost my mother when I was really young. To see what Udita does for our child makes me fall in love with her all over again. It's heartwrenching to see what a mother does for her child and a daughter's love for her father.

Were you commitment phobic? Did you have any half girlfriends before marriage?
I was never commitment phobic, my problem was different. I was always in a relationship, I always had a woman in my life. Maybe it was my way of trying to compensate for not having a mother.

What do you like the most about Udita?
Udita lets me be. I am not an easy person to live with. I am obsessive about my work. The reason we have sustained this far is because of her. I have always felt that she is my soulmate despite the two of us having nothing in common. She is not passionate about films the way I am. While she is extremely family oriented, I am not since I didn't grow up with one. I didn't know what it's like to be surrounded by people with whom you are supposed to share a bond. My father was 35 and I was eight when my mother died; we were more like roommates. There were times when he had a girlfriend and I was also in love with someone and we'd share stories. There was a bond, but not the father-son kind. And, I used to work with my other family members (uncles Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt). So, that was also a professional relationship.

Did the failure of Hamari Adhuri Kahani (2015) affect you a lot?
Failure affects me a lot, but I cannot be the person I am today without it. I don't mull over what went wrong. I blame myself as a director if a film doesn't do well. While I don't share my success with anyone, I don't share my failure either. Success doesn't feel really great, but lows feel really low. That's why I run away to the US for a month after my film's release. I live with my best friend in Chicago, as school friends don't let failure bog you down or success go to your head. Sometimes, if people love your film, they talk to you assuming that you are a good person (smiles). They judge you by your work, my friends don't.

Mohit Suri discusses his next love story, opens up about wife Udita's pregnancy, and talks figures

Mohit Suri has proved with Ek Villain that he can set the cash registers ringing even without the Bhatts. However, he returns to the family banner to wield the megaphone for cousin Emraan Hashmi's next with Vidya Balan. Excerpts from an interview:

You moved out of the Bhatt camp to prove a point. Do you feel validated after the recent hit?
True. I'm about to become a father, I have to be more responsible now. My wife Udita (Goswami) and I had a minor tiff and she left for a holiday alone. She was mountaineering, rafting and skydiving when she discovered that she was pregnant.

Son or daughter?
I want a daughter, Udita wants a son. If it's a boy, they will both gang up against me. (Smiles) I'm in a happy space.

Will your next film, Hamari Adhuri Kahani, be different from your usual style of filmmaking?
People tell me to ride on a safe ticket, I won't. Whenever I have listened to unsolicited advice I have made films like Crook. I was told not to make a dark love story like Aashiqui 2 because only happy love stories like Student Of The Year work. I still went ahead and made it, I love flirting with danger.

Doesn't flirting with danger come from your association with uncle Mahesh Bhatt?
(Laughs) I was not around when he was directing films.

But you know of his love for daring subjects?
I know that he wouldn't have chosen to make an Ek Villain, I don't think he liked that film much. After Ek Villain, the Bhatts wanted me to do a remake of Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin or Sadak but I stuck to Hamari Adhuri Kahani, a story waiting to be told. It's about a woman who finds love but sadly, after marriage.

So, Vidya has an extramarital affair?
Yeah, but you can love a person without being physically involved. The film has a lot of human values involved. Some people come and touch your life so strongly that you can't evict them from your system. You are too consumed with him/her and the eviction is just not easy. I'm like that. I get strongly attached to people without any reason.

Why Vidya?
You connect to her at a personal level when you talk about human values, she's perfect for the role.

Will she have to lose weight for the film?
She has to look attractive. She is anyway losing weight, get ting into shape. That's one of the reasons she is on a break.

Ek Villain may have worked well commercially but it had a major flaw...Aamna Shariff's role was not fleshed out.
The role was not fleshed out because I wanted to show that besides a nagging wife, Ritesh (Deshmukh) has a psychological problem too. Every man has a nagging wife, but does every man kill?

Buzz is, Karan Johar has offered you Rs 9 crore to direct the official remake of Intouchables.
(Laughs) How does Mirror get to know everything? But yeah, money is finally coming in. Sorry, I can't disclose the exact figure.

Mohit Suri is just 33 years old, but he has already made nine films seeing enough flops before his last two superhits. He is terrified of so many good things happening in his life together, be it his successful film, his sister Smiley's marriage and his wife Udita's pregnancy. Over a cup of coffee, excerpts from a conversation with the filmmaker:

You had told me that post the release of your film, you would plan a baby. Any plans?
Yes, Udita is expecting. This is her fourth month and the baby is due in January. She comes from Dehradun and still has those small town values, where she is not comfortable talking about it. Also, she feels afraid that too many good things are happening, so something will go wrong and I hope it doesn't come here. After Aashiqui 2, there has been a phase of change in my life. I was talking to her in the morning today and I feel that more than ever before I feel responsible, be it towards fatherhood or for the monies being put into a film being made by me. Earlier, it was just me living in a house doing everything on my own, where I didn't need too much money to survive. I was considered talented but not someone to reckon with. That has changed.
There was so much happening at the same time. My film's release, my sister's marriage and the most critical first three months of Udita's pregnancy. I felt like I had three releases at the same time.

Talk about your sister Smily and her bond with Emraan Hashmi.
Emraan organised half the things for her wedding, including her mehendi ceremony. She has grown up in his house, so she is like one sister between the both of us. If Emraan and I are fighting, she mediates between us. Emraan and I have grown up together and my mother practically was his mother.

Vidya Balan was always your choice for Hamari Adhuri Kahani. Had she ever said a no for the film?
Never. I am just 33 and have made nine films already. I was told nine years back when my films were not doing well that I should work with bigger stars and that time, too, I had said that whatever it is, I will be a star on my own. It has taken me nine years and nine films to prove that conviction. Most people don't make nine films in a lifetime. I have made a film a year to have this belief that we can do these numbers with the cast that I want.

Aashiqui 2 changed your life. Is it also your favourite film?
More than anything else, I like Aashiqui 2 the most as I put my voice in to that film. It was not a bag of skills, as the plot was very thin in it. I will have hit films and flop films, but India has liked me as a person, as I have put my personality into Aashiqui 2. That is what makes it special.

While Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur have never accepted their relationship, what is your view?
One thing I feel really happy about is seeing Aditya and Shraddha getting mobbed today. I saw the difference between shooting with her in Aashiqui 2 and now, both in Goa. I keep telling the both of them, 'I won't forgive you if you both don't do well and don't become stars. You owe this to me.' They have never admitted their relationship to me. But they were dating for sure. They are stupid and think that I am stupid also. But I love the both of them. And I have promised the both of them one thing that if they ever talk to me about the other person being wrong, I will in fact instigate their relationship to break up even more.

Who do you want to make happy in your life?
I suddenly look at Udita very differently now. This is the first film I have done outside the Bhatts. She has been the one constant throughout. She has been with me from my first film but I remember even before we got married, she told my aunt, 'It's easy to be with this boy over the weekend, but try and live with him for 10 years and bear with him.' I don't think I am the easiest guy to deal with. I am too involved with my work, I cry with it and I live with it. Sometimes, a woman wants to feel special and when you are making a movie only that is special for you. I don't have parents and her parents live in Delhi. Hats off to her for having lived alone here. She also gave up her career just for me. She is 30 and was sure that she wanted to have a baby. She handles my money and she is the most important person in my life. Thankfully, after nine films, I now have started making some money. I want to give her all the happiness.

She is someone who is so clear cut and is in love with Mohit Suri and not my films. She is not a fan of mine. I don't know what she likes about me as I keep asking her that but she thinks I am a fraud as I am not as romantic as my movies. I do know that she knows that I am not a quitter. I may have my limitations, but I will never desert her. I have never seen her throw up in her life. Normally, she is the one controlling me and is the stronger one, so I have never seen her like this before and I don't like to see her like this at all. I am taking her to London for a holiday this weekend.

I have not visited my school friends for over 10 years now. Udita is a practical person and she doesn't want me to hang out with just the filmi people. So, after my holiday with her, I will be going to visit my friends there. She knows the person I should be also along with the person who I am.

Do you miss your parents?
I lost my mom when I was eight, so I don't really have that many memories of her, but I lost my dad when I was 30 just before Murder 2 released. He never got to see my first successful film. Also, Udita and he were very good friends. So, I guess, this is the thing I hold on to. I have never been to a filmi party before where there are other known people coming there for me. I do miss him. I don't have bouts of laughter or anger after a hit film, but I always cry to celebrate my happiness.