It's the beginning of new 'Dostana': Karan Johar on working with Kartik Aaryan

Mumbai: Filmmaker Karan Johar on Thursday said he is pleased to have teamed up with Kartik Aaryan on “Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri”, which turned out to be a great collaborative process.

Aaryan and Johar were supposed to work together on "Dostana 2" but then stories of differences between them started to emerge. Johar later said his production banner would recast for the movie.

Now the two seem to have buried the hatchet with "Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri”. The film also stars Ananya Panday and it is directed by Sameer Vidwans of "Satyaprem Ki Katha" fame.

"It's been such a joy working with both of them. It's wonderful to have a feature film with the man (Aaryan) himself. It's the beginning of a new 'Dostana'," Johar said at the trailer launch of the film as he referenced the now shelved ‘Dostana 2’.

"We are so happy that the film got finished and it also is releasing. Now, there's no looking back. Also, his coming together with Ananya, no pun intended, has actually been a glorious beginning. They have had success before this on a tongue twister film, ‘Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri’,” Johar said.

Aaryan said he is also “happy” to have collaborated with Johar on a film that they both could complete this time around.

“My thoughts are the same that we actually completed the film or finally released... We could have kept the name 'Dostana 2' if this title was long,” he said.

In another tongue-in-cheek remark, Johar said, “It’s a great coming together of insider (him), insider (Pandey) and outsider (Aaryan). It's a lovely union of nepo papa, nepo baby and outsider. Please, let's celebrate this melange on stage. We truly are eclectic in that way.” The filmmaker said Panday has grown as an actor over the years and he was amazed by the “love and commitment” Aaryan has shown for cinema.

"Ananya and I’ve done a series of work together, so I worked with her very closely. I've also seen her literally grow up in front of me; I feel a lot of pride with her achievement.

"But what blew my mind was the level of commitment that Karthik brings to the table. He's very humble in the way he spoke about his contribution. He becomes a lead actor, a supportive producer, a collaborative assistant director, everything to the team, even to the marketing team and to every single department,” the filmmaker said.

On a lighter note, Johar said, “I don't know when Karthik Aryan sleeps. He doesn't. He's a vampire. I've missed calls from him ranging from 1 am to 6 am. I actually like to sleep. So after a point I shut up and tune off. I also work very hard. He is awake (all the time).” Johar said he feels “deeply drepressed” to see less number of romantic films being made today, which he said were the “foundation” of his career as a director.

“Many love stories have been made. There was a time when only love stories were made in Hindi cinema. When I started off in Hindi cinema, Yash Chopra ji, Raj Kapoor sahab, Sooraj Bharjatya ji were my inspirations. Now-a-days when I hear there is a dearth of love stories and they don't work (at the box office), I get deeply depressed.

"My foundation is associated with love stories. Be it my first film (‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’) or Aditya Chopra's first film (‘Diwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’), all of our careers began with love stories.” “Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri” is set to release on December 25.