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Recently, Kartik Aaryan, who’s been riding high on his silver screen successes, featured on a social media handle that retells the stories of Mumbai city’s inhabitants. In the post, the actor shared his inspiration behind his acting career and the struggles it took to reach, and the big moment that changed it all for him!
The actor began by sharing, “I was born in the small town of Gwalior. My parents were in the medical field & I was going to do engineering. But in 9th grade, I saw Baazigar & I knew I wanted to be on the other side of the screen,” as he called the Shah Rukh Khan film his inspiration.
Apprehensive of how his parents would react to his choices, Kartik Aaryan shares, “I was unsure of my parents’ reaction — so I decided to study till 12th in Gwalior & then go to college in Mumbai. Luckily I got into a college in Navi Mumbai. I stayed in a hostel & searched for auditions. I had no contacts, so I’d type keywords like, ‘Actor Needed’ on Facebook.”
“I’d travel for 6 hours 3-4 times a week for auditions. At times, I’d be rejected from outside the studio because I didn’t ‘look the part’. But I still had hope. Soon I got projects like a few seconds in an ad & they kept me going. Eventually I rented a flat in Andheri with 12 boys. I had limited finances.” Adding, “I couldn’t even afford a portfolio—I’d crop my face out of group photos to send to agents! All the while I’d skip college to give auditions & my parents didn’t know about any of this.”
Once I saw an ad for a film audition & decided to go for it. They liked me & auditioned me many times. My final audition script was the monologue that then became my identity! Finally, when I got the role, I was at Andheri station & immediately called my mom! She couldn’t believe it! After 2 & a half years of struggle, what I had imagined as a possibility, was now a reality. After Pyaar Ka Punchama, there still weren’t many opportunities. I stayed in the same flat with 12 boys till my third film!
“But what I have today, would’ve never come my way, if I hadn’t believed that I’d make it. I’m grateful for where I am & I know I have a long way to go. Sometimes all of it still feels unbelievable—from this point on, the possibilities just seem endless & my dreams, are just waiting to come true,” adds Kartik Aaryan who feels it’s after his film Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety that it all changed.
On the work front, Kartik Aaryan will be seen as a part of many remakes, be it Deepika Padukone and Saif Ali Khan’s Love Aaj Kal, Akshay Kumar’s Bhool Bhulaiyya, the 1978 hit film Pati Patni Aur Woh or Dostana.
