REIGN MAN

KARTIK AARYAN IS THE CURRENT HEARTTHROB OF THE NATION. ANURADHA CHOUDHARY TRIES TO CAPTURE THE CRAZE IN AN INTERVIEW

- ANURADHA CHOUDHARY

Kartik Aaryan doesn’t take himself too seriously. He’s like one of the children visiting Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory – he doesn’t care why he has got the golden ticket and can’t decide on which goodies to munch first. He doesn’t want the illusion to end, despite knowing that it’s an illusion. What’s more, he’s invited us all into his private world to enjoy it with him and the magic circle is ever expanding. We’ve met a dozen times and I still can’t get enough of his toothy grin. Somehow, whatever mood I’m in, he’s always elevated it by his mere presence. You can’t help but smile back at him. He doesn’t have any starry airs despite giving numerous hits back to back. He’s a true hero of the masses. Someone who can be truly called the ‘family pack hero’. The entire family likes him for their own reasons. Everybody loves him, and just like Raymond he doesn’t know why but he’s glad all the same. By his own admission, he doesn’t want to limit himself to just one genre. Films like Dhamaka, where he played an investigative journalist who has no qualms bending rules or Freddy, where he plays a dentist-turned serial killer, are proof of that. In Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, he successfully segued into the Akshay Kumar territory and emerged triumphed. Rumour has it that he’s already been offered Hera Pheri 3. Clearly, his star is shining bright right now and blazing high in the sky. He’s in a happy space for sure and shares in the warm vibes in our engagement. Excerpts:

YOU’VE BEEN PLAYING AGAINST TYPE IN QUITE A FEW FILMS LIKE DHAMAKA, FREDDY, SHEHZADA, ETC. WHAT WENT INTO THE DECISION TO EXPERIMENT?