Sanjay Gupta praises Saiyaara's minimal promotional strategy: "Can we please learn our lesson?" : Bollywood News - Bollywood Hungama

Published 1 week ago• 2 minute read

Saiyaara, starring newcomers Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, opened to an impressive Rs 21.5 crores on its first day at the box office. The film’s performance is drawing attention not just for the numbers, but also for the unconventional approach it took in the lead-up to release—no interviews, no podcast appearances, and no extensive media rounds.

Sanjay Gupta praises Saiyaara's minimal promotional strategy: “Can we please learn our lesson?”

Sanjay Gupta praises Saiyaara’s minimal promotional strategy: “Can we please learn our lesson?”

Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta publicly applauded the decision. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he wrote: “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.”

Directed by Mohit Suri and backed by Yash Raj Films, Saiyaara skipped the high-decibel promotions usually associated with Bollywood releases. Instead, the film relied solely on its trailer and music to generate interest. Both elements quietly gained traction online, fuelling curiosity among viewers rather than setting fixed expectations.

The strong day-one collection suggests that audiences responded positively to the more restrained rollout, walking into theatres with an open mind rather than preconceived opinions.

Sanjay Gupta didn’t stop at praise—he also questioned the industry’s longstanding reliance on publicity and advertising (P&A). “Film business was running smoothly. Then corporates came and tried to rewrite the rules… One of their biggest screw-ups was P&A. It was purely to looto producers,” he wrote, implying that promotional budgets often do more harm than good.

Sanjay Gupta praises Saiyaara's minimal promotional strategy: “Can we please learn our lesson?”

He further compared the approach of the South Indian film industries, which typically prioritise storytelling over campaign scale. “The South never followed the dumb P&A practice. They did just fine. More than fine. And then come films like 12th Fail and Saiyaara—straight to theatres. Smash hits with no PR nonsense. Can we please learn our lesson?”