Post struggling with a few initial failures, Kartik Aaryan is now happy to have reached a place where he can call himself a "relatable hero".
While Kartik's 2011 debut "Pyaar Ka Punchnama" went on to become a sleeper hit—giving him critical and commercial acclaim—his next two projects, "Akaash Vani" and "Kaanchi" bombed at the box office.
But he bounced back with "Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2". His last released film was "Guest Iin London" which got negative reviews.
In an interview with PTI, Kartik said despite achieving his share of success he is happy that the audience has loved him at a time when he is still trying to create his own niche in the film industry.
"I'm still at the start of my career and don't feel 'I've arrived.' People relate to my characters and see me in a different way. They identify with me and remember the nuances of my characters. I'm happy being the relatable hero," he said.
While he credited director Luv Ranjan for creating this persona of a "loveable relatable hero" Kartik also admitted that living the life of an actor—with or without the baggage of an image—is not easy.
"Life of an actor is not his or hers, it's everyone's life. Nothing is private, nothing is personal. If you're doing great in terms of work, that's the price you've to give."
Kartik recalled, when he was doing "Pyaar Ka Punchnama" lot of people suggested him to not take up the film as it was helmed by a new director and also the fact that it was a multi-starrer and he will not get noticed.
As audiences showered their love on "Pyaar Ka Punchnama", Kartik said he got worried when two of his films — Akaash Vani" and "Kaanchi" did not work.
"... There was this drive to act but also to earn money as I came from Gwalior to act here and was staying with 12 people in a 2BHK flat during my first film.
"The fear of 'will I get to work again?' was humongous. I know my talent when it comes to acting. But will I get the opportunity to showcase? That fear seeps in when an actor's film fails back-to-back."
The 27-year-old actor said there was a time when he was not sure of how "Pyaar Ka Punchanama 2" would turn out as a package. The film eventually brought both, Kartik and director Luv back on track.
"As the same team was coming after 'Akaash Vaani's' failure... There was fear over the reaction of the audience for the second part. But in retrospect, '..Punchnama 2' looks like a winner. But that wasn't the case."
Kartik has again collaborated with Luv for his latest "Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety". The romantic comedy marks the duo's fourth collaboration.
The film is scheduled to be for the released on February 9, and also back his co-stars from "Pyaar Ka Punchanama" series Nushrat Bharucha and Sunny Singh.
(with PTI inputs)
