'Baseless rumours': Aanand L Rai's team on speculation over Kartik Aaryan's exit from their film

As reports of Kartik Aaryan being dropped from filmmaker Aanand L Rai’s upcoming production venture surfaced online on Monday, production banner Colour Yellow Productions in a statement said the team is still in talks with the actor for a movie project. Aaryan has lately been in the news for his exit from Karan Johar-produced Dostana 2 and is reportedly no longer a part of Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming home production, titled Freddie. Various media reports on Monday claimed that the 30-year-old actor has now lost Rai’s gangster drama film to Ayushmann Khurrana. Calling the stories “baseless”, the production house said they are in talks with both Aaryan and Khurrana for different projects. “These are baseless rumours. We’ve met Kartik for a different film and we’re still talking. We’ve taken another film altogether to Ayushmann and this is a complete mix up,” spokesperson for Colour Yellow Productions said. Last month, Johar’s Dharma productions had announced that they will be recasting Dostana 2, amidst reports of Aaryan being ousted from the film due to differences with the makers. “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,” the statement from Dharma read. The film also features Janhvi Kapoor and newcomer Lakshya, who has previously worked on few TV shows. Over the weekend, reports surfaced that the Luka Chuppi actor is having creative differences with Freddie director Ajay Bahl. Aaryan, however, has not issued any statement regarding his exit from the big banner projects. He is awaiting the release of his next titled Dhamaka, directed by Ram Madhvani. The thriller, backed by Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP Films, along with Madhvani and his wife Amita Madhvani, will release on Netlfix. He also has Anees Bazmee-directed Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, the shooting of which came to a halt amid the second wave of coronavirus pandemic in India.