Bollywood was desperately seeking a mega-hit in 2022. The Hindi film industry’s leading male superstars like Akshay Kumar, who delivered flop after flop, and Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh failed to create a fizzle at the box office. And then came the youngest star Kartik Aaryan with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and surprised everyone. If 2022 was a blazing hit for him, 2023 would be momentous because it will define the trajectory of Aryan’s decade-long career.
Twelve films, three blockbusters (Pyaar ka Punchnama, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2), several hits, and massive brand collaborations like McDonald’s, Superdry, etc. — the hallmark features of Kartik’s filmography and career do not do justice to the path the Gwalior-born engineer has carved for himself.
“I have always been ignored. For the longest time and for years. But now is the time I feel it’s tough to ignore me,” said Kartik in a November 2022 interview.
Despite his absence from B-town’s most controversial and popular couch (Koffee With Karan) in 2022, Aaryan’s name popped up on more occasions than one. Be it Ranveer Singh’s spot-on mimicry of him in the 7th season’s opening episode, or when Sara Ali Khan made a passing reference to him. When prodded by Karan on “why her ex is her ex”, Khan retorted, “because he’s everybody’s ex”.
But that was 2022. With all eyes on him now, Kartik Aaryan is ready to make headlines throughout the year in 2023, likely to be the most crucial year in his acting career.
1.1.23 ❤️
Lets Embrace n Conquer 2023 👑 pic.twitter.com/SRkjmQjeot
— Kartik Aaryan (@TheAaryanKartik) January 1, 2023
Also read: Kartik Aaryan embodies Bollywood’s new generation of Urban Neanderthals
‘Apne Ghar ka Hero’
A lanky boy from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, harbours an ambition to become a Bollywood actor while pursuing an engineering degree. Several times, you must have heard this template with minor plot changes. But how often does that boy become the youngest Bollywood superstar?
In an age where nepo-kids are being called out for their privilege, Kartik Aaryan has emerged as the poster boy of relatability in contemporary India.
“I think the sense of belongingness has come from how they [the audience] have seen my struggle from my eyes — from Pyaar ka Punchnama days to now, till Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2,” he said in a May 2022 interview.
After a viral monologue in his debut film Pyaar Ka Punchnama (2011), an impressive performance in Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018), back-to-back family entertainers rooted in small towns – Luka Chuppi and Pati Patni Aur Woh (both 2019) – to his most profitable venture Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022), Kartik Aaryan is onto building his own filmdom.
Big-budget titles of 2023
The year 2022 laid bare Bollywood’s mediocrity with old, stale ideas repackaged to give a sense of new. But ‘new and exciting’ cinema largely remained a South Indian phenomenon in 2022. Bollywood’s massive productions like Bachchhan Paandey, Laal Singh Chadha, Samrat Prithviraj, Shamshera, Cirkus, Jersey, Jayeshbhai Jordaar, Liger, etc. fell flat on their faces. Many blamed it on the pandemic and the audience’s transformed appetite. But the grand successes of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, Bhediya, and Drishyam 2 proved that well-told stories and commendable performances can still pull the crowds.
But the real challenge will begin in 2023.
Most of the films scheduled for release this year have either been conceived during or after the pandemic, presumably with lessons learned from the past year’s failures. Kartik’s two big-budget films — Shehzada and Satyaprem ki Katha — will also come out this year.
There is no doubt that from his first film to his last 2022 release, Freddy, streaming on Disney+Hotstar, Kartik Aaryan come a long way. While he has attained superstardom, the real challenge would be to retain that stature.
With the two big Khans — Shah Rukh and Salman — returning to the big screens with their highly anticipated films (Pathaan, Jawan, Tiger 3), the race to lure in audiences will only get tighter. After the massive success of Brahmastra, Ranbir Kapoor will also be coming in with Animal. It would be interesting to see how, among the biggies, Kartik fares.
Regardless of what fate has in store for him, 2023 will decide if Kartik has the goods to become ‘iconic’.
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(Edited by Prashant)