Confined in his Juhu apartment over the past seven months, Kartik Aaryan entertained his fans with his social media videos. Now, the actor is ready to trade his home videos for his place under the arc lights. mid-day has learnt that Aaryan will team up with Aarya director Ram Madhvani for a thriller, which will go on floors in the first week of December.

A fan of Madhvani's hijack drama Neerja (2016), the actor has been in talks with the director for over a year. While the filmmaker had discussed a few ideas with Kartik Aaryan, the latter gave his nod to the thriller since he has not attempted the genre so far. "The film will be shot at multiple locations in Mumbai in a start-to-finish schedule. Though planned as a month-long schedule, the makers have left a two-week buffer, in case any unforeseen situation arises," says a source, adding that the pre-production is underway.

Aaryan was recently seen sporting long hair at Manish Malhotra's fashion show. The new hairstyle is part of his look for the project. The source adds, "Kartik has begun prepping for the film. Though he was initially waiting for the Coronavirus curve to flatten before stepping out for work, he eventually decided to resume work with this project. After wrapping up this movie, he will return to the universe of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 in February 2021."

Madhvani too has his plate full — while he will kick off the second season of Sushmita Sen-fronted Aarya in Dubai next month, he will hand over the reins to co-director Sandeep Modi before returning to Mumbai by November-end.