Bollywood actor looks back on 2024 and says he is in a glorious phase of his career
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00:00Hi, this is Manjusha Radhakrishnan, Entertainment Editor for Gulf News Dubai.
00:14I'm here with the man of the moment, Kartik Aryan, who's on a box office roll.
00:18Bulbulaiya 3 is a massive blockbuster success.
00:21He just told me that it's made more than 140 crores, just in India alone.
00:27Oh, it's 150, more than 150.
00:29There you go. So, brilliant. I have to ask you with a very basic question.
00:33Do you feel like a star? He made us wait for two hours or more. Do you feel like Shah Rukh Khan today?
00:39Not at all.
00:41As we came here, the traffic in Dubai has increased so much and one road
00:48What happened is, our drivers were also new.
00:52So, they took one wrong road and then took another wrong one and we just went round.
00:57So, you saw a bit of Dubai today?
00:58I saw Dubai entirely actually.
01:02No worries, but people are waiting for you.
01:03I went from one end to the other end today. So, it's just been a crazy, crazy ride for me.
01:08But it's been wonderful over here and again, after Chandu Champion, I'm coming here again
01:15with Bulbulaiya 3 and it's been doing wonderfully well over here.
01:18So, the entire team wanted us to promote the film over here all the more and yeah, I'm glad I'm here.
01:25Dubai is a lucky place for you. I remember talking to you last time and you said the city
01:30has a vibe about it and it works for you.
01:32It does, it does. Dubai is a place which I really love and I enjoy coming here and in fact during
01:40Bulbulaiya 2 also, when it got released, during the promotions of Bulbulaiya 2 also, I had come
01:45here and Chandu Champion and now Bulbulaiya 3 again. So, I've been here with all my films,
01:51without my films also and it's a wonderful place to be in and yeah, it's a lovely place where
02:00people are just warm and they're just, it's very, it feels nice to be here.
02:06No, and what I loved about the movie is that surprising twist at the end. I don't want to
02:10give anything away. People should still go watch it but what I thought was very bold of you to
02:15take on a very layered and complex role because it's a horror comedy, right?
02:19Did you have reservations at all, Kartik?
02:22No, not at all. I think it was a complex character as it wasn't the usual character that you might
02:30see in a horror comedy universe. So, Rooh Baba's character I think was there but I mean I can't
02:38elaborate more on it but all I can say is that it was a complex role but for me it was again
02:43something which was really different, unique and in my home ground but it was still very
02:51different from the usual comedy films that I usually do.
02:55It's physical comedy I thought. I thought you did a lot of physical comedy especially the scene
02:59where you switch from a woman to a man, that kind of fun bits, right?
03:03Correct, correct. There are moments which was also in the trailer.
03:05Yeah, yeah, yeah there was. So, was that tough though because we may see you for monologues.
03:10The way writing is, I think it does help when the writing is such and even with Anisar, the way he
03:16directs, so I think the way he did those scenes with me, it's always a team effort. So, it really
03:24helped me out to bring out that energy when we were doing those comedy scenes where one of those
03:31scenes when the soul enters Rooh Baba's body, I mean he acts basically.
03:35Of course.
03:37But it was just, it just came out over there and we just went with the flow. We just didn't plan
03:44anything. There was no rehearsals, there were no, we were not planning it. We just went for the
03:49natural way and yeah all of us just liked it, the way it was shot and it worked out brilliantly. I
03:56could see, I went to theatres and I saw the reactions and there were massive laughter during
04:02that scene so yeah, I'm glad that people liked it.
04:05It could have easily not worked, right?
04:07There's a thin line. I think there's a very thin line when you do such comedies when you can go
04:12overboard or you can be very subtle about it and it might not land. So, I think for these jokes to
04:18land, you need to have, you need to be on that thin line and just take a step, smaller, smaller
04:26step and towards your goal and I think, I have a knack of doing comedy scenes. I love doing
04:33entertaining scenes and yeah, I was enjoying it. I was just enjoying performing it and I could
04:41see the reactions when I was performing on set. So, you get to know that how
04:46You feel the pulse.
04:47Yeah, you feel the pulse, you feel the reactions and that translated on screen also.
04:51Now, you're up against Madhuri Dixit and our Vidya Balan, two iconic powerhouse talents. I mean
04:58if they are in the scene, I don't watch many people. It's so difficult to grab attention. Did
05:02you at any point think, oh my god, I'm up against like powerhouse, Hollywood and Bollywood
05:06heavyweights?
05:07No, actually instead of being against, I was actually really happy. I was excited to be a
05:10part of a film where I was really in one frame with Madhuri Dixit and Vidya Balan. So, for me
05:19it was a dream come true. For me, it was just like, I have been watching Madhuri Dixit since
05:26I was a kid. I have been watching her since she has been doing such big songs and films. So, I
05:31was just excited and with Vidya also, I was just too happy that she is a powerhouse when it comes
05:38to acting, talent and she is just too good. Whenever we used to do scenes together, there
05:43were so many improvisations and it felt like I was working with college friends.
05:51Really?
05:52I felt like that.
05:52Did they feel like your seniors?
05:54No, not at all. They felt like juniors.
05:56Did they used to rag you? Did you rag them?
05:58No, not at all. Sometimes they used to pull my leg and sometimes I used to walk like this.
06:02Right.
06:02So, it was just too much fun on the sets of Bhool Bhuliya with them, really.
06:08You need to tell me about the dancing sequences as well. I thought was quite interesting and
06:13that I did not see it coming. Was that like a tough one to pull off?
06:18See, if we talk about the title track, I think the sequence where I am dancing on the
06:25staircase is something which was never rehearsed. It was done on the location, on the sets only.
06:32It was impromptu?
06:32It was impromptu and because all of us decided that we wanted to do something new and
06:38unique and there was a staircase over there and by mistake it was the set part and it was
06:45never designed for me to dance over there.
06:47Right.
06:49But it just happened, the spooky slide, it just happened that we all decided that let's
06:55do a step here and something which in a way is like a gliding step and I rehearsed there
07:02for like 30 minutes or so and then we did the shot and that's how the spooky slide came.
07:07And of course, talking about even Madhuri ma'am and Vidya's song, Ami Ja Tumha, the way
07:13they performed on the song, I was again watching it every day, live. I was there, when I was
07:20not shooting also I used to go there just to see them do the dance sequence.
07:25Right, of course. This movie has also given like a shot in the arm for Bollywood because
07:30you know I write stories right about how Bollywood is not doing as well as it should
07:35throughout the year. I have been covering stories like that. Do you think in some ways
07:38this is a revival that we all needed?
07:41I am glad that you are saying that for our film also. I am happy in a way but also sad
07:47that there is this story about Bollywood or Hindi films that is going around where the
07:52films are not working as such. I think, I just hope that more and more movies come and
08:00people go to the theatres and watch them and they enjoy them. With Bhool Bhuleya 3, of
08:06course, I can say that the audiences, they have really liked it, the way they have reacted
08:11to it, the way the numbers are pouring in, the way, they are going with groups, they
08:16are going with families, they are going with friends. So, I think that is something which
08:21is certainly lacking right now. A lot of people are not going, they are not opting for
08:28theatres.
08:30But there are options, right?
08:31But because there are options, because they are seeing stuff on OTT, they are seeing stuff
08:36on TV, so the options have increased so much that it becomes difficult to get them to
08:40theatres. I mean, in Bhool Bhuleya 3, it has cracked, it has been good and I hope more and
08:48more films come and I hope I am also a part of those films where people come to the theatres
08:53and watch them.
08:55What a phenomenal year you have had. I spoke to you for Chandu Champion which was all about
08:59the critic friendly, you transformed yourself. Bhool Bhuleya is as massy as it gets. What a
09:04fantastic balance to strike. Do you think, was this all planned? Did you want your career
09:102024 to be all about where Kartik Aaryan peaks as an actor?
09:16I didn't plan it that way, that in this year, these two things will come. You can never plan
09:21your releases because sometimes there is a delay, some unwanted things happen but having
09:27said that, I had planned the fact that Chandu Champion came first, then Bhool Bhuleya 3
09:33came, then of course, Spore Jab Hoon Ki Thab came.
09:35I think you gave something away. Is Spore happening? Tell me. I would watch it. I will
09:40stand in line for the tickets.
09:41I would also watch it.
09:42Yeah, yeah, yeah. You gave it away.
09:46I don't know if I can say that but all I can say is that as an actor, when you get
09:57a film like Chandu Champion or Bhool Bhuleya 3, it's something which for me, it's a film
10:06in which I am getting so much love critically. It's a film in which I am getting so much
10:11love from the masses, box office, everything. It's just content meets commercial aspect.
10:16I think 2024 is actually the year where I feel yeah, I mean I will remember this year and it's
10:29been a historic year for me also.
10:31No, I think it is historic. What makes it even better is that you are not an EPO baby and I
10:35love that for you. I am so happy to hear that. It's always great to, you know you kind of like
10:40paved your own way, you march to your own tunes. When you look back, do you look back and say
10:45you know what, I have my Ferrari, I have made it truly and have you bought more cars?
10:50I have my McLaren.
10:53Dubai, watch out. Dubai has fancy, souped up cars but you have more.
10:57So, you bought your McLaren with the success that you found?
11:00No, no, no. I got it during Bhool Bhuleya 2. It was gifted to me actually at that time.
11:06We don't have such friends but no, I am kidding. What are you getting this time?
11:12This time, I don't know. I don't know actually. I am still in film theatres. It's only been
11:156 days since the film came. It's doing wonders over there and I hope, I don't know, I don't know.
11:23What's your dream car? Come on, just put the word out and we will manifest it for you.
11:27Oh, I have already gotten my dream car.
11:28Which one is that?
11:29Lamborghini.
11:30Oh, I like it how he just says it like you know it's just a thing but it's so great. Are you
11:35very happy about the success you have got on your own, on your own terms?
11:38I am really proud of it. I am really happy about it and I am someone who is not content.
11:43I am not content. I am not a guy who will ever be content because even when I am giving takes,
11:49I feel like it's an okay take but I can do something else with it. Even now when I watch
11:54a film, I feel like what if I had done this scene differently. So, even if somebody is
12:00saying no, laughing at it, I would say that I should have brought a little more laughter.
12:04So, it keeps going with me, it goes on all the time and I think so even that success,
12:11success is relative. I feel like I have to go further and do a lot more things. I am just
12:16happy where I am and I hope that I get more and more options and choices to select from and I
12:23just want to be excited about my job.
12:25Which you are and we can see that on the big screen. Thank you for entertaining us this
12:29Diwali. I think his life has got more fireworks and spectacular run than all of us. Happy Diwali
12:35to you and I am sure people in the UAE would also keep buying tickets for this one.
12:39Thank you. Thank you so much.