'SAIYAARA': A MASTERCLASS IN MARKETING?

The film arrived with all the gloss of a grand Bollywood launch — but none of the press noise. Is less-is-more the new playbook?

- By Manjusha Radhakrishnan Entertainment Editor

Let’s state the obvious: Ahaan Panday is trending.

And not just because Saiyaara, his debut film, is playing in packed theatres across Dubai and worldwide — but because the marketing behind it might be one of the most controlled, polished, and deliberately “unpolished” PR roll-outs we've seen in a while.

Produced by Yash Raj Films and directed by Mohit Suri, Saiyaara arrived on the scene with all the gloss and ambition of a grand Bollywood launch — but none of the usual press noise. No marathon junkets. No endless press days. No 10-minute Zoom interviews with regional and international publications, including Gulf News. In short, none of the usual “hamsters on a wheel” circus we've come to expect from Bollywood promotions.

And yet, here we are, talking about it nonstop.

STRATEGIC SILENCE

Instead of press interviews, we got something else: strategic silence paired with orchestrated noise.