Proud father Suniel Shetty cannot stop marveling at son Ahan’s debut in Milan Luthria’s Tadap. “The opening surprised all of us. Of course as a father I was hopeful that my son’s film would get an opening. But the numbers surpassed all our expectations.The opening is most surprising for a film starring a newcomer. The messages and calls have not stopped since Tadap opened on Friday.”

When I tell Suniel it is because of the goodwill that audiences have for him he agrees only partially. “Of course the fact that Ahan is my son has encouraged audiences to go and see Tadap. But to get such numbers during these hard times is not easy.More than me it’s the content. I think audiences today are too smart to make that effort to go to a theatre to see a film just to see somebody’s son.”

So what according to Suniel Shetty was the deciding factor for the for audience to see Tadap? “The script, the content. We knew we were going with an unusual plotline for Ahan’s debut, and it paid off. Plus, of course, the songs were popular from before the film’s release.”

Ahan seems to be far more confident and skilled in his first film than Suneil was in his debut film Balwaan 20 years ago.

The proud father responds, “Ahan is 25 times better in Tadap than I was in Balwaan .When I came into films I knew nothing about camera angles, cues and dialogue delivery. Ahan has come prepared.”