Lately, it has been go, go, go for actor Kartik Aaryan, without a “moment to rest’. “I haven’t slept in four nights; I’ve been in different time zones after the launch of the Chandu Champion trailer in Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh). I was in London for an event, then in Mumbai, followed by Delhi, Dubai and now, I’m back in Mumbai,” explains the actor, who wants to “get everything right” before the release of his next. The biopic, a first in his career, is based on the life of freestyle swimmer Murlikant Petkar, India’s first Paralympic gold medalist.

The 33-year-old has joined hands with filmmaker Kabir Khan, another first. He shares, “We were supposed to meet and I thought the meeting would last maybe 15 to 20 minutes. But we ended up chatting for two-and-a-half-hours and I was very excited when he narrated Murli sir’s story to me.”

In the past, Aaryan has taken decisions where he has put the well-being of the film ahead of demanding a higher fee. The actor opted to become a co-producer on his 2023 film, Shehzada, taking a fee cut, and this move helped to control the film’s budget. Today, as conversations around the rising costs of film due to celebrity’s entourage and exorbitant fees rage on, we ask him his take on the debate.

As an actor, Aaryan feels it is important to be involved in all aspects of the film, especially the budget. “Aise nahi hai ki mujhe pehle bauhaut paise milte the. When I got to the point where my fees could affect my film and if I got to know that it is affecting the film’s journey, then I took a call on my remuneration. My logic is you have to know the economics behind a film, if it’s going to be profitable. If it won’t, then everybody should chip in to try and make things work. It can’t be that only one person is in the profitable zone and nobody else is; that is wrong,” he wraps up.

Most of Aaryan’s characters have been the ‘charming romantic’. His next will be a stark departure from this. Ask why not continue and capitalize on the ‘cute’ image for guaranteed financial success and he says, “When films come your way you have to decide [what kind of films you want to do]. That decision can’t be made on the basis of agar ek chal gayi toh yahi genre ki film karunga. There was a time I didn’t have many options but I gave 200% to my work. Now I have options and I go with my instinct. It is like an exam, you don’t know what the result will be.”