Dostana 2: Karan Johar To Replace Kartik Aaryan With An Outsider To Avoid Backlash Over Nepotism?

A few weeks ago, there had been reports of Kartik Aaryan being dropped from Karan Johar’s Dostana 2, over creative differences. Kartik had shot for some portions of the film with Janhvi Kapoor last year. Dharma Productions later released a statement without mentioning the actor’s name, and stated that they will be recasting Dostana 2. After this, there had been a lot of speculations as to who would replace Kartik Aaryan. Now, if reports are to be believed, Karan Johar will be casting an outsider to replace Kartik Aaryan in Dostana 2, to dodge the debate over nepotism. Earlier, reports suggested that Karan Johar requested Akshay Kumar to come on board.

As per a report in Bollywood Hungama, no actor has been finalized yet, however, Karan Johar is looking to cast an outsider. An insider told the entertainment portal that Karan Johar has been brainstorming over the casting of Dostana 2, with his creative team and director. So far, the names that have been shortlisted include, Akshay Kumar, Rajkummar Rao, Varun Dhawan, Siddharth Malhotra and Siddhant Chaturvedi. The source further adds that Karan Johar has been pushing to get Akshay Kumar on board for several reasons. Firstly, because he is the biggest star of all the names mentioned, and also because KJo wants to have an outsider, to avoid any debate on nepotism.

“Karan Johar wants an outsider to avoid any insider vs outsider debate giving a rebirth to nepotism. Hence the first choice is Akshay. But if things don't work out, he will move ahead to explore the collaboration with other actors. Of the 5 shortlisted names, 4 are outsiders and hence, a safe bet at the moment. The core idea is to get an outsider replaced by an outsider," said the source.

However, nothing has been finalized yet. In April, Dharma Productions had released a statement 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.”