The Rise of Kartik Aaryan: Who would have thought a boy hailing from Gwalior holding an engineering degree in biotechnology would be making the nation, laugh, cry and groove with his noticeable performances. The boy who couldn't make it through the audition for three years, made the audience relate to him in his first film itself Pyaar Ka Punchanama (2011). Rajat "Rajjo" Utkeshwar gave everybody in complex relationships "been there" feels and Kartik Aaryan became the 'it' guy thanks to his infamous monologue. However, the audience couldn't imagine him being the "bankable star" and "hero" right after. He had to turn to supporting characters for the next few years until Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018). Things took a turn for 180 degrees for Kartik post that.
And now, a decade after his debut, everyone is talking about Kartik Aaryan. His recent release ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’ defied the odds and went on to become not only the biggest Bollywood blockbuster post pandemic but now finds itself among the top 30 Bollywood grossers of all time! The film elbowed out big ticket releases at the box office including YRF and Akshay Kumar’s recent Prithviraj and while the industry had initially pinned its hopes on previous star-led entertainers like Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai headlined by Alia Bhatt, Yash Raj Films’ Jayeshbhai Jordaar, to the recent Prithviraj, it was Kartik’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 that ultimately saved the day and continues to thrive at the box office.
Interestingly, the film’s collections have already surpassed those of Dabangg 2, Kesari, Total Dhamaal, Chhichhore, Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Dabangg 3 and Saaho [Hindi], Baaghi 2, Race 3 and Bang Bang among others.
What makes this victory spectacular is that Kartik’s dream run at the box office stays undefeated despite major competition from big studios and industry heavyweights.
Going by the sheer numbers, there is no questioning that Kartik is the biggest fanmade superstar of his generation - It’s well known that the film industry is not very conducive to outsiders and the road to stardom especially for them does have a lot of bumps on the way. Kartik Aaryan came to Mumbai with nothing but big Bollywood dreams, he had no filmy background or connections and no industry godfather to launch him; stardom didn’t come easily to this outsider. However, his consistent hits, ever-growing popularity with the masses and smart choices as an actor have catapulted him into the top league.
While we have seen cases of Bollywood outsiders make a mark in the Hindi film industry, no one has risen to this level of stardom as Kartik Aaryan has. The young star is not only defeating Bollywood bigwigs at the box office but is also breaking their pre-pandemic records!
What’s even more impressive is that Kartik Aaryan’s biggest hits are the Pyaar Ka Punchnama franchise, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (Luv Ranjan), Luka Chuppi (Laxman Utekar) or Pati Patni Aur Woh (Mudassar Aziz), have all been with debutante directors or comeback directors including his recent blockbuster Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 that marked Anees Bazmi’s return to the big screen.
It's safe to say this boy did it on his own! Bollywood hasn’t witnessed a case study like this since Akshay Kumar in the '90s but Kartik Aaryan’s meteoric rise has us asking how long it will be before this millennial 'fanmade' superstar reigns over Bollywood!
