Kartik Aaryan Will Do Whatever His Director Needs Him To Do

With over a decade of experience in the film industry, Kartik Aaryan has collaborated with many filmmakers, including Imitiaz Ali and Anees Bazmee. In his recent Front Row session, Aaryan spoke about how various directors work and his takeaways as an actor. The actor said his acting style changes from project to project, and that he moulds himself to meet his directors’ requirements. “They want me to be spontaneous, I can be spontaneous. If they want me to follow the script, I will follow the script. Toh, talent hai! (I have the talent),” he said.      

With Luv Ranjan, who directed Aaryan’s debut film Pyaar Ka Punchnama (2011), the relationship became more than professional since they spent approximately six months on script readings. “It was more about knowing each other, it became like a family,” said Aaryan. He also said Ranjan doesn’t like actors improvising while performing. “You can’t change the words. He wants it to be the way it is,” Aaryan said. 

Bazmee’s process is very different. The director of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022) expected his actors to do what felt right to them. Aaryan recounted a scene in which he screams for his mother and runs away — this was performed in the spur of the moment and wasn’t a part of the screenplay. 

Speaking of Ram Madhvani, the director of Dhamaka (2021), Aaryan recalled that each take lasted between 10 to 15 minutes (that’s much longer than usual). “I had to just perform, improvise, and lines ke beats yaad zyaada rakhna hota hai usme (had to remember the beats of the dialogue properly),” he said.

While working on Imtiaz Ali’s Love Aaj Kal 2 (2020), Aaryan recalled finding a comb in a hotel washroom which seemed to be something Raghu (Aaryan’s character) would own. Ali suggested Aaryan keep the comb in his pocket and use it frequently. The comb became like a touchstone for Aaryan as he became Raghu, a man steeped in the Nineties. 

Aaryan’s upcoming project, Captain India is directed by Hansal Mehta. The actor said he’s been trying to convince Mehta to work with him since 2011 because he believes Mehta is one of those directors who really pushes an actor to deliver their best performance.