After the stupendous success of his last theatrical release, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, film trade experts are hopeful that Kartik Aaryan will live up to the expectations of his fans and the film industry with Shehzada.
Kartik Aaryan saw the release of his film Shehzada on Friday. The Rohit Dhawan directorial, starring Kriti Sanon, is his first release of the year. He was last seen in a thriller titled Freddy, and will next be seen in Satyaprem Ki Katha, a love story opposite Kiara Advani. Now in a new interview, Kartik said that he is playing ‘safe’ with the films of his choice.
There is excitement around actor Kartik Aaryan, whether he has a film coming or not. His stardom has grown manifold on the big screen after the success of his last release, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. The film was the first mainstream commercial drama in 2022 to taste success at the box office. Now, with the release of Shehzada, it is also his debut film as a producer, he is returning as a boy-next-door. It is a remake of the hit Allu Arjun’s 2020 Telugu film Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. Film trade experts expect him to live up to the expectations of his fans and the film industry with Shehzada.
In 2022, Kartik delivered one of the biggest blockbusters of the year, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, a fun horror comedy starring Kiara Advani and Tabu. The film released theatrically and collected a worldwide gross of ₹266 crore. This was followed by his OTT release Freddy, in which Kartik played a dentist who brutally kills people by pulling out their teeth. Both the films won him acclaim from critics and audiences.
“There are very few actors of his (Kartik) generation who are actually considered reliable at the box office. He happens to be one of them. So, it is important that Shehzada does a certain level of business on its opening day as the industry needs more actors on whom it can depend and deliver numbers at the box office,” said film distributor Akshay Rathi. Apart from taking the burden off senior actors to generate income in the film industry, Rathi also believes that it is important for Kartik to capitalize on the success of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. “Kartik had a great start post the pandemic with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, and it is important that he builds on that,” he added.
Kartik Aaryan is often referred to as the rising star of Bollywood and is slowly and steadily making his way into the A-list league of Bollywood. Even before Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, he gave hits like Luka Chuppi, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, Pati Patni Aur Woh and Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2. Filmmaker and trade expert Girish Johar calls her “the new star on the horizon”. Ask him why and he explains, “He has done hit films in the past as well. He has done different things on OTT platforms (Freddy and Dhamaka). Luck was on his side when no film was doing the rounds. He made sure that the maximum number of audience saw him in theatres with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. It is a matter of time where the public starts liking you on screen.
Since Kartik has turned producer for the first time with Shehzada, he will be closely watching its performance at the ticket counters. But Girish Johar believes that the success or failure of Shehzada will not affect the stardom of the actor. He added, “If the film does well, it will be another ace for him, even if it does average-ish, I don’t think it’s going to reduce his stardom. His critics might be saying that Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 went on because the audience was hungry for entertainment so he went in droves. But, at the end of the day he has a huge fan following too. He gets huge crowds and is a youth star. If not this film then maybe his next Come on, he is on the right track. Ups and downs are all a part of it. What you need is stardom which can attract an audience towards you and cinema halls, which Kartik Aaryan definitely has. He just needs every film Learn from and do different things.
Girish Johar has pegged the opening day collection of Shehzada in the range of Rs 7-8 crore. However, film trade analyst Taran Adarsh believes that the makers of Shehzada “made a mistake by postponing the release date. They could have taken advantage of Valentine’s Day”. Earlier, Shehzada was scheduled to hit the theatres on February 10. But due to the promotions of Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathan, they pushed the release of the film by a week. Now, it will be released alongside the Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantummania. is colliding with.
Asked whether his choice of mass-entertainment and serious films was a conscious choice, the actor said he wanted to play it safe. He told in an interview, “Maybe, the next one is serious! Or there is a serious love story next. I am playing safe. I didn’t imagine this happening. I mean the reason behind choosing such films was a thought. But it was not thought that this film would come after this or that this film would come after that. It just happened on its own. But there was this option of the script which thankfully was coming to me, and it made me want to do such films. It was a conscious decision to mix a romantic thriller like Freddy, a dark thriller, and then suddenly switch gears to a film as large as a family mass entertainer .
Therefore Kartik Aaryan ‘s stardom is not capable enough to make a film hit. It all depends on the story , cast and many factors. But whether he would remain Shehzada of Bollywood will depend on the upcoming films .