Bollywood actor Kartik Aryan has lost yet another project after Karan Johar’s Dostana 2 and Shah Rukh Khan’s production, Freddie, Hindustan Times reported. He was reportedly roped in for an untitled gangster movie but is no longer part of the project.
“Kartik was in advanced level talks with Aanand, and had read the script and heard the narration, too. But, before he could sign on the dotted line, things fell apart,” Hindustan Times quoted sources as saying.
Karan Johar’s decision to drop Kartik Aryan from Dostana 2 could have influenced the decision, the source speculated. The source said, “The fact that Karan dropped Kartik seems to have influenced others. So, this could be the third instance where Kartik maybe losing out on getting to work with an established filmmaker like Aanand.”
“Aanand is now considering Ayushmann Khurrana for this film with who he had earlier collaborated on Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (2017) and Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020), so it’s not a surprise if he may have readily come on board,” the source further revealed.
Filmmaker Aanand L Rair, however, said that nothing was formalised with Aryan. He told HT, “As a production house, we work on several scripts and pitch it to actors — that’s the process. Actors keep meeting you, you keep telling them what you are working on, they express their desire to collaborate. And then, depending upon the subject, you decide if you should approach them. But that doesn’t mean you have signed them.”
“I have a story, which we would soon make with Ayushmann,” he added. Earlier, Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions had announced that they will not be working with Kartik Aryan in the future after dropping him from Dostana 2 due to ‘unprofessional behaviour’.
Kangana Ranaut had said, “Kartik has come this far on his own, on his own he will continue to do so, only request to papa jo and his nepo gang club is please leave him alone like Shushant don’t go after him and force him to hang himself. Leave him alone you vultures, get lost chindi nepos…”
She also advised Kartik that there was no need to scared of these “chillars”. Kangana Ranaut also drew parallels with the manner in which stories of unprofessional behaviour and drug addiction were peddled regarding Sushant Singh Rajput.