When Saiyaara, one of 2025’s biggest films, arrived, it introduced audiences to a promising new face who carried both fragility and understated strength on screen. For Aneet Padda, Femina’s January-February 2026 cover girl, the film was not only a breakout moment but a shift in identity, taking her from being a girl with dreams in Amritsar to becoming an emerging star in the spotlight. In the cover story, she looks back on a year that changed her life, speaking with honesty about ambition, success, self-doubt, and the emotional cost of being seen by millions.
Reflecting on the turning point that set her journey in motion, Aneet recalls the disbelief she felt when she first heard from Yash Raj Films. “I didn’t allow myself to react, I was like, until someone says it, you don’t have it.” When the news finally came, it was her father’s reaction that stayed with her. “I’ve never seen my dad like that, he just looked at me like, has this really happened?” She adds, “We were both actually very scared. This was a world we didn’t know.”
The months leading up to Saiyaara were filled with preparation, pressure, and purpose. Of the bond she shared with her co-star Ahaan Panday, Aneet reveals, “We kept saying one thing to each other: ‘Let’s remind the world of a kind of love they’ve forgotten. Let’s do it for love.’ We said it all the time. It became about whether we were serving the larger picture.”
Aneet speaks candidly about learning to navigate visibility without losing herself as public attention intensified after the film’s release: “Emotionally, it was jarring, so many people having opinions about you.” Learning to detach herself from narratives she couldn’t control became essential. “That was strange, because I know who I am,” she notes.
Aneet also reveals what will draw her to roles going forward: “Anything I do next, it just has to have heart. Something magical that helps me discover a part of myself I haven’t met before.”
Grounded by family, guided by instinct, and driven by honesty, the cover story captures a young actor learning to hold space for fame without letting it define her.