It was in 2019 when Karan Johar announced Dostana 2, the sequel to the much-loved romantic comedy which came out in 2008 and starred Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, and John Abraham. The follow-up initially had Kartik Aaryan, Janhvi Kapoor, and Lakshya (formerly known as Laksh Lalwani) as its main cast. However, Kartik was dropped from the film in 2021 after the shoot was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Now, in a recent interview on the famous television show Aap Ki Adaalat, Kartik opened up on his ouster from the Dharma Productions film as he stated, "This happens sometimes. I haven't spoken about this before. I believe in what my mother has taught me and these are my values too. When there's an altercation between two people, the younger one should never speak about it. I follow that and hence I never speak about it."
The actor was further asked about the allegations that he was dropped because he demanded more money, to which Kartik responded, "This is like Chinese whispers, a make-belief story. I have never left a film because of money. I am very greedy, but in terms of script and not money." When he was further prodded if he was ousted from the film due to changes in the script, he stated, "Pandemic happened, there was a gap of 1.5 years and there were some pre-planned changes in the script which couldn't happen."
After Kartik was dropped from Dostana 2, it was reported that the actor had issues with the film's script in the second half and wanted certain changes in the same. As per the rumours, the producer Karan Johar refused to make those changes and questioned Kartik's professionalism claiming that the actor had no problems with the script when he signed the film.
In April 2021, Dharma Productions had put out an official announcement that read, "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". It was reported in December 2021 that the sequel has been shelved for some time.
READ | Kartik Aaryan-Karan Johar bond like BFFs, netizens speculate if they've buried the hatchet post Dostana 2 fallout
