"At first he asked Karan for a hike in his acting fees"
The controversy between Dostana 2 and Kartik Aaryan has caused a lot of drama ever since the actor was dropped from the film.
It was rumoured that Kartik’s dismissal was due to his unprofessional behaviour and repeatedly delaying the filming schedule.
This resulted in Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions deciding that they would not work with Kartik again.
However, a source has claimed that the real reason was due to Kartik receiving low fees for the film and him attempting to renegotiate for a higher amount.
The source told Bollywood Hungama: “Kartik Aaryan had come on board Dostana 2 in 2019 for a minimal amount of Rs 2-3 crores (£190,000 – £289,000), and at present, his market value is upside of Rs 10 crores (£960,000).
“At first he asked Karan for a hike in his acting fees mid-way as his market value had gone up big time in the last two years.
“While Karan believed it was unprofessional on Kartik’s part to renegotiate the remuneration mid-way, he tried to compensate him with another film, Mr Lele.
“Kartik also agreed to come on board the said film and was all charged up for a quirky ride.
“But to his surprise, he found himself replaced all of a sudden by Vicky Kaushal without being notified.
“Kartik was also upset with Dharma Productions when they gave Shashank Khaitan’s Yoddha to Shahid Kapoor. Although Shahid soon quit, they never approached Kartik for the role anyway.”
Karan reportedly then offered Kartik Aaryan a cricket-based film, directed by Sharan Sharma.
In a bid to prevent being dropped from the film, Kartik asked Karan to sign a contract with him.
The source continued: “Meanwhile, Kartik continued giving reasons of the Covid-19 pandemic to not start shoot for Dostana 2 and Karan didn’t push him much either given their relationship.
“But when he shot for Dhamaka, Karan was upset. They had an indoor meeting where Karan expressed his disappointment.”
Kartik stated he would not film Dostana 2 until the contract was signed for him to star in Sharan’s next film.
According to the source, Kartik Aaryan told Karan Johar:
“I will shoot for Dostana 2, only after you sign the contract for Sharan Sharma’s next.”
Karan allegedly felt there was a lack of trust. As a result, he could not commit to the film until the script and screenplay were confirmed.
Meanwhile, Karan decided to shoot Mr Lele, starring Vicky Kaushal and Janhvi Kapoor from April 2021.
When Kartik Aaryan found out, he told Dharma Productions that his only dates available for Dostana 2 were from April onwards.
Karan allegedly reprimanded Kartik for his request.
The source claimed that Karan was upset with the actor as Janhvi had to pick between Dostana 2 and Mr Lele.
Following the incident, Karan and Kartik reportedly stopped speaking to each other.
The source claimed: “Karan felt it was unprofessional on Kartik’s end to arm-twist, and this finally led to a big fall out between the two, with things going ugly.
“Kartik on the other hand felt he was horribly underpaid for the job, as he was definitely the biggest selling point of the film and Karan was not keeping up his promise of a second film.
“Kartik also developed some issues with Janhvi Kapoor, due to their break up and it all culminated into a big fight, with money, like always coming in the centre.
“All issues might have been resolved, but unprofessionalism took things to a different tangent and Karan was left with no choice but to oust him from Dostana 2.”
Dostana 2 will recast Kartik’s role, with reports suggesting that it will be Akshay Kumar.
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