Ahaan Panday says he was 'wronged' by people as he opens up on his long waiting period before 'Saiyaara': 'My confidence started to shatter as my grandmother passed away'

Ahaan Panday became a star just as 'Saiyaara' hit he screens and the massive Rs 20 crore opening eventually lead to the lifetime business of more than Rs 300 crore for the film in India. The film broke records and created history. While Ahaan's rise to fame may look sudden, the journey to his first big break was anything but easy. Casting director Shanoo Sharma revealed in an interview that he had to wait for 9 years before his debut film finally rolled. Now Ahaan has reacted to this struggle period and long wait. He said that he doesn't feel bitter but he admits to being wronged by people.



Reflecting on those struggles, Ahaan said during a chat with The Hollywood Reporter India, “Have I felt wronged by people? Yes, I have. It wouldn’t be right for me to get personal about that though, but as an actor that’s where you take inspiration from. I would take a small moment and enlarge that for the character. I just kept putting myself into different things. There was that blind optimism, the first four-five years, where I was entirely delusional, and I think people around me could sense it.”




The young actor also revealed that his biggest emotional blow came with the loss of his grandmother, who had always been his pillar of strength. “I would have to tell myself to keep the faith because things weren’t going the way I wanted them to. Something happened in my personal life that left me shattered. A person very important to me and she passed away. She was my backbone; the only person that would call me a hero every day in my home and always meant it. And I think once she passed away, that confidence started to shatter; the only way to deal with that was to just keep working, and that’s what I did.”



During this tough phase, Ahaan managed to find purpose when he was offered the chance to work as an assistant director on 'The Railway Men'. He called the experience invaluable, saying, “I didn’t ever think it would be this big. I was happy doing this; I was never sour or bitter that things weren’t going my way, because I got to be on a set.”



Meanwhile, 'Saiyaara' director Mohit Suri had earlier shed light on how Ahaan’s debut almost happened differently. Speaking to Komal Nahta, he shared, “Ahaan had actually been workshopping with YRF for seven years. He was supposed to do a larger-than-life film before the pandemic. But the project was cancelled, because, as you know, the industry changed.”



Suri added that the cancellation left Ahaan devastated. He said, “Overnight, his pride and ‘guroor’ was killed. The same kid who was going around telling everyone that he would be launched by YRF was heartbroken. People started saying to him, ‘You were bragging about being launched by YRF, what now?’”



According to the director, Aditya Chopra later reached out to reassure Ahaan that his belief in the young actor’s talent was intact, but he also gave him the freedom to look beyond YRF if he wanted. As Suri recalled, “But the kid was adamant that he could only be launched by YRF, and it worked.”