Kartik Aaryan's Luka Chuppi reaffirms his standing as a youth heartthrob

Joginder Tuteja

A star is born, or shall we say, reborn.

2011 - This was the year when Kartik Aaryan (then Tiwari) made his debut with Pyaar Ka Puchnama. I still remember watching the uncut version of the film in the editing room of producer Kumar Mangat who was launching him (along with two other youngsters) with this Luv Ranjan directed film. I realised the meaning of 'falling of the chair' firsthand as Kartik got into a relentless monologue.

Circa 2019 and the biggest win for Kartik is that he has managed a potential superhit in the making with Luka Chuppi without getting into a monologue. By catering to the family audiences (something that he kick-started with Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety itself), he has found a good enough excuse not to get into a monologue film after film.

Not that I would mind seeing that. However, less is more, and I would rather have him preserve that for Pyaar Ka Punchnama 3, lest any monotony sets in.

Rest assured, there won't be any monotony in the filmy career of Kartik Aaryan for the next few years at least if he continues to make his choices wisely without getting into the rut of either getting way too comfortable by picking similar roles or get into an experimental zone by trying out something remarkably different from something that has actually fetched him fans.

Ask any star or a superstar and that's the toughest job to do, which is to not repeat exactly what you have done in the past but then not let go off a successful formula either.

This is something Kartik played well though with Luka Chuppi coming exactly a year after Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety. In spirit and execution, latter was actually closer to Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2. In fact many wondered why the film wasn't titled Pyaar Ka Punchnama 3 itself, given the fact that (yet again) Kartik wasn't really high on getting into a trusted relationship with a woman and that too into something that was for the keeps.

It was a role reversal of sorts though when it came to Luka Chuppi.

This time around, he wanted commitment. He wanted to get into 'saat pheras' with the woman of his lie. He believed in 'pehli nazar ka pyaar' and 'saat janmon ka saath'. He wanted his friends and family members to know that he had finally 'found the one'. He didn't mind waiting for her to say 'yes' though he wanted to be assured for sure that ultimately there would be 'yes'.

Still, in the middle of this all, he made sure that those who had loved him in Pyaar Ka Punchnama series and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety did find him in a zone where he had been originally accepted. This means even though the stage and setting changed from Delhi to Mathura (and Gwalior), the boyish charm, the ease in front of the camera, the sweetness that came in the characterisation and the natural act of delivering dialogues remained intact.

A well balanced act, both on and off the screens, and something that meant that loyal audience fan base only continued to grow in hordes and that too at a remarkable pace.

This is pretty much evidenced in the kind of opening that his films have now been consistently taking at the Box Office. If Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 brought in Rs 22.75 crore over the weekend.

Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety went further ahead to notch 26.57 crore and later entered the Rs 100 crore club success. Will Luka Chuppi hit a century too? Well, too soon to say but the start so far has been super fantastic, what with the weekend collections hitting a remarkable 32.13 crore.

For a youngster who has punched nepotism on its face, Kartik is certainly on the right track so far. His subsequent choice of films like Pati, Patni aur Woh followed by Love Aaj Kal 2 should only make his stocks further high.

Meanwhile, his eight years in the industry so far would certainly be the guiding force behind him making a choice between what is familiar and what is different, and yet overall entertaining.