Varun Dhawan and Kartik Aaryan began their Bollywood journey together. While Varun went on to being cast in Karan Johar's Student Of The Year with Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra which released in 2012, Kartik Aaryan gained fame with his debut film Pyaar Ka Punchnama. Kartik's monologue especially became popular in 2011, but Varun also made girls fall weak in their knees.

The star kid went on to gain recognition with many more movies - be it Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania or Badlapur, he did not deliver a single flop. Meanwhile Kartik was still finding his journey. He collaborated with Luv Ranjan once again for Pyaar Ka Punchnama sequel which released in 2015. The actor and Luv gained their highest fame with their last release Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety.

As compared to Varun, Kartik Aaryan has seen hard-hitting failures before he became one of the most in-demand actors that he is today. Varun Dhawan went on to call Kartik's journey inspiring and also revealed that they were friends long before Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety release.

Also revealing that he shot for Kalank in Kartik's hometown Gwalior, Varun told Mumbai Mirror, “I’m fond of Kartik Aaryan. I know him since long, even before 'Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety' released. I used to meet him at the gym. I visited Kartik’s hometown, Gwalior, for the shoot of Kalank. To imagine from where he came and where he’s reached today… hats off to him! His journey is so inspiring.”

Interestingly sources close to Deccan Chronicle reveal that Varun was taking a jibe at Kartik Aaryan last year at the IIFA awards by calling him '100-crore-hero'. “It was almost like pointing out that the junior actor has a long way to go,” an actor told the publication. Meanwhile Kartik and Varun have been gym buddies and have shared a warm camaraderie at least on camera.