Following the brouhaha over Kartik Aaryan’s alleged bad behaviour, team ‘Shehzada’ has come out guns blazing in support of the Bollywood star after it was reported that he behaved unprofessionally.
T-Series head and producer of ‘Shehzada’ Bhushan Kumar issued a statement to entertainment portal Pinkvilla refuting the claims that Aaryan had threatened to walk out of their film if the dubbed Hindi version of the Allu Arjun-starrer ‘Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo’ released in cinemas first.
“We, the producers, felt that ‘Shehzada’ should release in theatre first and not the Hindi version of ‘Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo’. Hence, we requested Goldmines not to release the Hindi version, and release of the film is always the producer’s decision and not the actor’s,” Kumar was quoted by the portal as saying.
Kumar further added: “I have known Kartik since the beginning of his career. We have done multiple films together. He is one of the most professional actors I have worked with.”
‘Shehzada’ director Rohit Dhawan also piped in with support for Aaryan. “Kartik’s intent and excitement for ‘Shehzada’ is unquestionable. It’s been a joy working with him. As director and actor, we share a solid bond and nothing can come in the way of our love for the film.”
Producer Aman Gill also backed the lead star of ‘Shehzada’ in the ongoing row. “After finding out about the Hindi version release of ‘Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo’, we the producers on our own requested Manishji to not release it. Kartik is going all out for ‘Shehzada’ as an actor and only discusses how he can contribute to make this the biggest film for everyone involved; he is one of most dedicated actors in the industry,” Gill told the portal.
Aaryan was accused of unprofessional behaviour by Bollywood producer Manish Shah, who was planning to roll out the dubbed Hindi-language version of the Allu Arjun-starrer ‘Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo’ on January 26.
Shah says he was forced to cancel the release, a decision which he claims he took after he had a meeting with the makers of ‘Shehzada’ that happens to be the official Hindi remake of the same Telugu action-drama film. The reason behind this cancellation was blamed on Aaryan, who Shah claimed threatened to walk out of ‘Shehzada’ if Arjun’s dubbed version released in cinemas as well.
Speaking to India Today, Shah accused Aaryan of showing unprofessional behaviour under the circumstances. “The makers of ‘Shehzada’ were not keen to release the Hindi version in cinemas. Also, Kartik Aaryan said if the movie was released in theatres, he would walk out of the film, which would have caused ‘Shehzada’ producers a loss of Rs 40 crores [Rs400 million]. It was extremely unprofessional of him,” Shah said in the same interview.
‘Shehzada’ is being co-produced by Allu Aravind, who had also backed the original 2020 Telugu film, along with Gill.
Shah further claimed that he’s known the makers of ‘Shehzada’ for close to a decade and could not, in good faith, have associates suffer such a loss. Shah further said that by doing this, he in turn had incurred a loss of Rs200 million, out of which, Rs20 million was spent on the dubbing alone.
With Arjun’s ‘Pushpa The Rise’ emerging as the biggest hit out of India in 2021, there is a renewed interest for the actor’s films with the Hindi-speaking audience that Shah was hoping to cash in on with ‘Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo’.
‘Shehzada’, also stars Kriti Sanon in the lead and is being directed by Rohit Dhawan.
While no statement from Aaryan is forthcoming at this time, this isn’t the first time the actor has been linked to a similar controversy. The actor was dropped from ‘Dostana 2’ by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, despite having shot portions of the film. In its statement, the production house said: “Due to professional circumstances, on which we have decided to maintain a dignified silence — we will be recasting Dostana 2, directed by Collin D’Cunha. Please wait for the official announcement soon.”
According to unconfirmed reports, Dharma Productions has also decided not to collaborate with the actor in future. Aaryan has kept mum so far on that drama.
Meanwhile, the actor, who was last seen in the Netflix thriller ‘Dhamaka’, has ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’ lined up for a March release.
