‘Your First Award On Stage’: Ahaan Panday’s Mom Deanne Celebrates His Big Win At CNN-News18 IOTY 2025

Saiyaara stars Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda recently won the prestigious GenZ Icon Awards at the CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2025 ceremony held on November 28. It was an extremely special moment for both stars as it marked their first-ever jury-based win and their first major award-show recognition. Now, Ahaan’s mother Deanne Panday has shared a post on Instagram, expressing her pride over his big win, and his ‘first award on stage’. In her emotional post, she congratulated him and expressed that he would treasure this moment for years to come.

Deanne Panday Beams With Pride As Son Ahaan Panday Wins GenZ Icon Award

On Saturday, Deanne Panday took to her Instagram to share pictures and videos of Ahaan Panday from the CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2025 ceremony. The photos show him proudly flaunting his trophy. In the caption,

Deanne wrote, “Gen-Z Icon of the Year 2025..Your first award on stage,your first speech on stage & to receive it for Saiyaara,yes you will hold onto this moment for years to come. Congratulations my son @ahaanpandayy we love you so much ,you make us so proud all love here always. @cnnnews18.” Check out the post below!

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A post shared by Deanne Panday (@deannepanday)

Bipasha Basu also celebrated Ahaan Panday’s win. She commented on Deanne’s post, and dropped a heart-eyed and clapping emoji. Bhavana Pandey wrote, “So proud of you love you,” while Sanjay Kapoor, also congratulated Ahaan.

Ahaan Panday’s Speech

Ahaan Panday was asked how he felt about winning the award, and he said, “I think any artist has dreamed of coming on a stage and accepting their first award… I’ve practised in front of my bathroom mirror many times, at least 300 to 400 times. But I didn’t expect the possibility of me being completely and utterly speechless on such a big stage.”

“I know that when I look at this (trophy) on my shelf, it’s going to be a reminder to keep bettering myself, work harder and be a better performer year after year… I want to thank all the people who helped me. For starters, my mumma and my papa. I know you will be watching this and be very happy,” the actor said.

Ahaan continued, “Mohit Suri, you have given me life. You have given me something that, in my wildest imagination, I couldn’t have dreamed of. Shanoo Sharma, you have stood by me and believed in me even though there were so many naysayers. Aditya Chopra, sir, you have given me this whole platform… the whole team of Saiyaara.” He also thanked the film crew, the press, and his fans.