Dharma Productions, the production company owned by filmmaker and producer Karan Johar, announced on Friday that they will be recasting their Hindi film Dostana 2, which originally starred Kartik Aaryan, Janhvi Kapoor, and Lakshya in the lead.
The announcement comes after several reports claimed that Aaryan was dropped from the film due to alleged “unprofessional behaviour”.
“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,” the statement read.
The film’s recasting, which is a first for the production house, will set it back by around Rs 20 crore since Aaryan had already shot for around 20 days for the film, according to the Filmfare report. Aaryan, who was last seen in the 2020 Hindi romantic drama Love Aaj Kal, had tweeted in September 2019 that he started working on Dostana 2. Shooting was stalled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown.
Dostana 2 is a sequel to the successful 2008 romantic comedy-drama film Dostana, directed by Tarun Mansukhani and produced by Hiroo Yash Johar and Karan Johar. The film, starring Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra, was one of the first mainstream Hindi films to explore homosexuality. The film centres around two straight men (Bachchan and Abraham) who pretend to be a gay couple in order to be roommates with Chopra in her apartment.
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Aaryan has been working on Bhool Bulaiyaa 2, which is a sequel to the 2007 psychological horror comedy film Bhool Bhulaiyaa (a remake of the Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu). On March 25, he announced on Instagram that he had tested positive for Covid-19 while shooting Bhool Bulaiyaa 2. The film is supposed to release on November 19. On April 5, he announced that he had tested negative for the virus.
Aaryan is set to make his digital debut with the streaming giant Netflix with the upcoming Hindi film Dhamaka, directed by Ram Madhvani (Aarya), where he will be seen as a “frustrated ex-news anchor”. The teaser of Dhamaka released in March.
