Every day brings something new for Bollywood, and each one never fails to surprise. In recent news, both fans and industry insiders have been left shocked by the pre-booking performance of Saiyaara.
The film features two newcomers, Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, and the response it has received in pre-booking sales is nothing short of madness.
Saiyaara is on track to hit 175K pre-sale tickets across PVR, INOX, and Cinepolis chains, and it might even reach 200K depending on the momentum today.
These teenagers seem to be on a mission, as the film has already garnered 300K likes on the BookMyShow app.
Fans suspect this could be the biggest opening for any debutant since Abhishek Bachchan in Refugee.
The success of this film is monumental in terms of opening numbers for fresh faces and it certainly deserves a case study of its own.
Many on social media have tried to dissect the reason behind this phenomenal hype, and their observations make a lot of sense.
Users noted that instead of collaborating with mainstream Bollywood pages, the makers chose to work with smaller “edit pages” with fewer than 5K followers. This allowed them to partner with multiple accounts at a much lower budget. Considering YRF’s brand credibility, it’s likely that these pages agreed to collaborate for a nominal amount.
They also observed that the team collaborated with lifestyle and fashion influencers from Tier-2 cities, especially college students. This helped them directly reach their target audience in the fastest way possible.
They also asked paparazzi pages to use the film’s title track in all their reels, while the PR campaign continued alongside.
Interviews with director Mohit Suri, behind-the-scenes song-making videos, and his association with Aashiqui 3 further added fuel to the fire.
Additionally, 50% discounts on apps like BookMyShow helped attract a large chunk of the college-going crowd.
Yet, even with these offers, the film’s pre-sale numbers are holding strong.
However, the real test will begin after the film releases.
Once the buzz of PR settles and storytelling takes over, only then will we get a clear picture of where the film truly stands.
Romantic films with compelling stories and powerful music have historically won over audiences, take Laila Majnu and Sanam Teri Kasam, for example.
Fans hope Saiyaara delivers something magical too, and doesn’t leave them disappointed.
