Actor Kartik Aaryan’s stock was expected to rise following the success of Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018), which made Rs100 crore nett at the domestic box office. However, reports suggest the actor lost out on a Dharma Productions project as he demanded a very high fee.
Aaryan was said to be Dharma's choice for its next project that is likely to feature Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor in the lead. However, the actor's demands apparently forced producer Karan Johar to look elsewhere.
A reliable industry source said, “Usually, Kartik Aaryan charges around Rs75 lakh per film. No one expected Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety to be hit, but it crossed Rs100 crore. You expect a rise, but Aaryan demanded Rs5 crore which Dharma felt was too high."
But isn't the actor right in demanding a higher fee? “Well, you do merit a raise, but not Rs5 crore," the source said. "Dharma was willing to offer him Rs2-2.5 crore, but he refused to back down. While Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety was a hit, it didn't work on his shoulders alone. Sunny Singh and Nushrat Bharucha, too, deserve credit. And one hit alone is not enough for you to demand such a fee. Success has perhaps gone to his head.”
We tried contacting the actor, but he remained unavailable.
Hailing from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, Aaryan is director Luv Ranjan’s discovery and has worked in all his films so far. During a visit to the Cinestaan.com office last year, Aaryan had said he would like to feature in every film that Luv Ranjan makes.
However, after Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety was released, reports of a tiff bewteen the actor and the director surfaced. While Aaryan rubbished the reports, the director chose not to cast him in his next film, roping in Ranbir Kapoor and Ajay Devgn instead.
Aaryan will next be seen in the Hindi remake of Kannada blockbuster Kirik Party (2016). Produced by Ajay Kapoor of Kyta Productions, the film will be the Hindi directorial debut of Gujarati filmmaker Abhishek Jain.