What is it about Saiyaara that is making everyone cry?

On a weekday Bandrarsquos Gaiety theatre is packed Audiences are eager to finally watch Saiyaara after the stir it created over the weekend As the first sequence of the film begins the cameras are already out Everyone wants to capture this momentInstagram is flooded with the hysterics of ldquodardnaak aashiqsrdquo who are fainting wailing and tearing up their shirts right there in the theatre Just what is it about this film and the romance genre that causes mass mania in moviegoersAyesha Jayekar name changed 21 is a selfproclaimed fan of the ldquoMohit Suri Universerdquo She had experienced similar hysterics herself after watching Rockstar in the theatre last year ldquoAs the end credits rolled mdash I have goosebumps as I am saying this mdash the female version of the song Tum Ko started playing while a montage of the actorsrsquo memories appeared on screen I just lost it at that moment All the pain of that movie came to me in one secondrdquoMan twirls around his partner in the movie hall PicXAnshika_in man falls to the floor shirtless with a bottle of alcohol in hands PicXthatindicmonk woman goes viral for getting emotional in the movie hall PicX AnilYadavmedia1Jayekar says she felt a physical ache in her chest and almost fainted She had to be carried out of the movie hall by the staff ldquoI was shocked by my own reaction Irsquom really not one to create a scene but I felt what I feltrdquoKhushi Mundhada was 13 years old when Aashiqui 2 2013 was released For three months she begged people to go watch the film with her Finally her cousins caved in ldquoI watched it from the third row mdash thatrsquos how packed the hall was three months after releaserdquo Mundhada now 25 remembers the craze of the film vividly ldquoAll you would hear all day long was the song Tum Hi Ho All people talked about was Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur Arijit Singh was born from that filmrdquoSaiyaara is the first film in a while that has elicited this sort of reaction ldquoItrsquos a fantasy Deep down we all want someone to love us so much that they are willing to sacrifice it all for us Even those who say lsquoitrsquos cringersquo want that somewhere in their heartsrdquo opines MundhadaMohar Basu Pulkit Kochar and Khushi MundhadaldquoTherersquos a syntax to these filmsrdquo says Mohar Basu entertainment writer at midday and author of Shah Rukh Khan Legend Icon Star ldquoTherersquos always a heartbroken lover at the centre whom a lot of men from their teens to midtwenties really resonate with Therersquos a heroine who represents an idea that a certain kind of India connects with simple sweet kind mdash the kind of love that can heal you All of this is packaged with an album thatrsquos a banger Tere Naam 2003 Maine Pyaar Kiya 1989 Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak 1988rdquoEvery generation has their own version of this formula and it never fails to work ldquoespecially when we are jaded with actionrdquo adds Basu ldquoIn the last 10 years we havenrsquot been able to deliver a great romance Bring back yearning Largely yoursquove only had hits that are intense malerage films like Animal and ChhavardquoMundhada agrees ldquoI think wersquore all a bit tired of watching 50yearold men romancing 20yearolds Ahaan brings back that young actor appeal The people who are debuting now are very PR trained very urban vibe Ahaan brought back a mass appealrdquoPopculture enthusiast and Bollywood buff Pulkit Kochar says ldquoI could understand why people are screaming or crying after watching Saiyaara I liked the germ of the film too I cried after watching the last scene in Aashiqui 2 I was 18 thenrdquoSceptics have deemed the reactions to be a PR move ldquoPeople just throw around the word PR without understanding it Even if publicists see one video of a fan crying and push 10 pages to repost it itrsquos still a real videordquo says Kochar ldquoEven when I put up a story of people shouting at the screen I got so many comments saying that Irsquom being paid to post itrdquoOthers have pointed to the reactions being concerning Basu says ldquoIt becomes problematic only when you destroy a theatre or take it out on someone else This hysteria is a part of Indiarsquos cinema culturerdquoJayekar says ldquoIn a weird way Irsquom proud of the fact that wersquore a country that reacts so deeply to love Mohit Suri meticulously designs his films to have that reaction too When you see Rahul call Aarohi to say lsquoKuch nahi bas yuhirsquo thatrsquos meant to be reenacted by couples When Krish ties his hoodie around Vaani itrsquos meant to be imitatedrdquoSaiyaara isnrsquot for everyone ldquoIrsquoll be honest I didnrsquot love the film eitherrdquo says Aashiqui 2 superfan Mundhada ldquoBut I can recognise that I am not the target audience This film is tailormade for teenagers We had our Aashiqui 2 todayrsquos kids will have SaiyaarardquoWhen life imitates artDr Fabian AlmeidaDr Fabian Almeida psychiatrist at Fortis Hospital gives us insight into why the film has generated this craze ldquoIn India the masses look at cinema as an escape for those two hours Later they go back to their mundane life So they milk the cow they take as much as they canldquoIrsquove heard about copycat suicides after 1981 film Ek Duuje Ke Liye So much so that they almost thought of making another ending altogether This is how movies have impacted peopleldquoBut rather than just look at the sensationalism of movies we need to understand that therersquos a deeper fracture Not everyone goes to this extent in reacting to movies These are people battling other demons within and the movie might trigger thisrdquo