Self-Made Star! From Punchnama Boy To Youth Icon, Inspiring Story Of Kartik Aaryan In Bollywood

From being known to portray roles that were sexist, regressive and highly problematic to becoming the youth icon, Kartik Aaryan has come a long way in Bollywood.

His first film Pyaar Ka Punchnama made him an overnight star. Thanks to the monologue, his rant as a frustrated boyfriend, which hit a chord with many at first who later realised it was misogynistic. In Pyaar Ka Punchnama, he once again capitalized on the sexist tropes. Even in Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, he played a similar role.

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While everyone thought he would soon get lost in oblivion because he was typecast, but Kartik Aaryan proved he wasn't a one-hit-wonder. His recently released movie Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 has garnered more love than established superstar Kangana Ranaut's Dhaakad. So much so, that the many shows of Dhaakad have reportedly got replaced with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 due to less number of audiences.

From his spat with Karan Johar to his inspiring journey as an outsider, here's Kartik Aaryan's story!

Kartik Aaryan's inspiring journey - from Gwalior to Bollywood

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Kartik Aaryan always wanted to be an actor. Even in his school days, he would tell his friends that he would become an actor one day. His family wanted him to become a doctor as both of his parents were doctors. He then came to Mumbai to study at DY Patil College of Engineering. He pursued an engineering degree in biotechnology, but in his heart, he was coming to the city of dreams to follow his passion - which was acting.

Kartik Aaryan's struggle story

Being an outsider, his journey wasn't easy. Kartik Aaryan had revealed that he would skip classes to audition for movies. While he made a career in modelling, for three years, he was unsuccessfully auditioning. He didn't have money for portfolio, so he would crop himself from group photos to use for auditions. Later, he did an acting course from the Kreating Charakters institute. Even then he had not informed his parents about it. He only did so after bagging his first film.

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Aaryan was in his third year when he bagged Luv Ranjan's buddy film Pyaar Ka Punchnama. "I shifted into a rented apartment in Mumbai with 12 guys, who were all trying their luck in the film industry. The rent was quite high so it was difficult to sustain. It was in that situation that I shot Pyaar Ka Punchnama. The film released in 2011 and did well and I got my next film Akaash Vani the next year with the same team. But that film did not do well," he revealed in an interview.

A self-made star

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While his fist made him an overnight sensation, his mother believed acting was still a gamble. She insisted him to complete his studies, and so, after the release of Pyaar Ka Punchnama, Aaryan completed his engineering degree. He then bagged Subhash Ghai's Kaanchi: The Unbreakable, which again did not perform well commercially, leading Aaryan to question if he was on the right track.

Then came Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2, which many said had misogynistic themes again and was uproariously funny. Aaryan was once again back in the spotlight. His next was Paresh Rawal and Kriti Kharbanda-starrer Guest iin London, which again didn't do a good business at the box office. His breakthrough performance was in Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, for which he collaborated with Ranjan and Bharucha for the fourth time. After the success of the film, he could choose from a variety of roles. He featured in movies like Luka Chuppi and Pati Patni Aur Woh, which were both commercial successes.

He then bagged Imtiaz Ali's movie Love Aaj Kal, a spiritual successor to his 2009 namesake film. It bombed at the box office yet it was a special film for Aaryan. Soon, he bagged a Karan Johar movie - Dostana 2.

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The beginning of a huge controversy

While the shooting of Dostana 2 got delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Aaryan proved his mettle with Dhamaka. with this movie, Aaryan proved that he has the potential to pull off complex roles and it's high time he experiments with roles.

Extremely thrilled to announce my first film #Dostana2 with the supremely talented @TheAaryanKartik, #Janhvi & a suitable boy who shall be revealed soon! Watch this space for more!@karanjohar @apoorvamehta18 @DharmaMovies @Sumitaroraa @Navjotalive #RishabhSharma @NotSoSnob pic.twitter.com/9U2OYnBoXR

¡ª Collin DCunha (@collinDcunha) June 27, 2019

But then, he exited from Dostana 2

Later, Dharma Productions decided to recast for the film. It announced, "Due to professional circumstances, on which we have decided to maintain a dignified silence ¨C we will be recasting Dostana 2, directed by Collin D¡¯Cunha. Please wait for the official announcement soon".

His exit from Dostana 2 caused quite the stir apparently. It's rare to see an actor being dropped from a film without any legitimate reason, especially after the announcement has been made and he has also shot for a certain portion of the film.

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¡ª Dharma Productions (@DharmaMovies) April 16, 2021

A conspiracy against him - A campaign running against him?

Days after this, reports suggested that he has also walked out of a Red Chillies-backed film, which has been tentatively titled Freddie, to be directed by Ajay Bahl. As per rumours, he opted out because of "creative differences."

Then, rumour had it that Aanand L Rai has also replaced him with Ayushmann Khurrana in his forthcoming film. Later on, the filmmaker clarified, "There was no such film signed by Kartik, all these reports are baseless."

Kartik Aaryan maintained silence. Extending support to him and praising him for maintaining his silence on the gossip doing the rounds, Anubhav Sinha said, "And by the way... when Producers drop Actors or vice versa they don't talk about it. It happens all the time. This campaign against Kartik Aryan seems concerted to me and very bloody unfair. I respect his quiet."

And by the way... when Producers drop Actors or vice versa they don't talk about it. It happens all the time. This campaign against Kartik Aryarn seems concerted to me and very bloody unfair. I respect his quiet.

¡ª Anubhav Sinha (@anubhavsinha) June 3, 2021

When Kartik was asked if he is bothered by the negative stories about himself. He told RJ Siddharth Kannan, "A lot of times you ask yourself, ¡®Why is this happening?¡¯ But more than myself, I feel for my family, because they don¡¯t belong to this world. I belong to this industry, so I know that as long as you concentrate on your work, nothing else matters. But my family gets affected, and that¡¯s the only thing I get worried about. Other than that, it doesn¡¯t matter. I know that my work will always speak volumes. If I fall short on that front, I want to improve myself."

The rumours started doing the rounds when another filmmaker accused him of unprofessionalism, but Shehzada producer as well as director came to his rescue. They defended him and rubbished the claim.

Kartik Aaryan is currently basking in the success of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2.