EXCLUSIVE! Kartik Aaryan on garnering praises for Freddy: Lot of netizens compared my performance to SRK's in Darr

Kartik Aaryan is basking in the success of Freddy. Released on Disney+ Hotstar, the film has got Kartik the best reviews of his career so far. In an interview with Firstpost, Kartik shares his joy at the Freddy triumph and why he feels 2022 was a great year for him. Excerpts from the interview: Freddy has got you the widest appreciation of your career. It’s touted to be your career’s best performance. Your feelings? Supremely happy! With Freddy, I wanted to give the audiences something different but also unexpected and I had gone all out of my way to become the character down to every detail and I am so glad that they saw that, and appreciated it. Plus, all the love that they have been showering on the film is so special and motivating.

Even the critics seem pleased with your nuanced performance Yeah, what was most surprising about the response was that even among critics, it was surreal to see unanimously good reviews to my performance and that is a first. So many people called me up and told me about how surprised they were to see me in such a dark role or that they couldn’t recognise me. So, I am just extremely encouraged to keep pushing my boundaries and to keep trying different things to give to the audience. This year belongs to you… It started with a theatrical blockbuster Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and now it’s ending with a highly acclaimed OTT film Freddy. You seem to be planning your career very smartly? I am just picking up content and scripts that I would want to watch as the audience. _Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2_ had its magic written on paper and I was all in for it, from the second I even heard about it, not every day does one get the opportunity to be a part of such an iconic franchise. With _Freddy_ , I was surprised when I read the script and I found it a page-turner thriller and immediately said yes, especially with Shashanka sir (Ghosh) directing the film. So the only planning is to keep exploring new genres and surprising the audiences and building a graph that is varied and builds up to something to be proud of in the end. And I am extremely grateful for the super successful 2022 that has been and I hope every year as blockbuster as this one. What’s the best compliment that you have received for Freddy? The overall response from the critics being unanimously so good and positive for my performance this time has been my biggest compliment. And talking about a specific one, a lot of netizens compared my performance to Shah Rukh sir’s in Darr. This is a compliment I will never forget, that too coming from the viewers themselves, as well as a couple of reviewers. It means a lot to even have your name be used in the same sentence as the legend so this compliment is truly surreal. Freddy is that person within each of us that we don’t want to be. How do you see him? I agree. We all are made of our greys – there is no only-black or only-white. There was a journey of an innocent Freddy, with his nervousness in talking to new people and only friend being his pet tortoise, Hardy, that a lot of introverts may relate to, into a revenge seeking lover due to his betrayal. So that switch is where a normal person draws the line, but Freddy steps to the side of darkness and revenge. The Kartik inside me didn’t have to agree with Freddy’s actions, but as an actor I had to understand where they stemmed from and get into his thinking pattern. When you see him from an outsider’s point of view with depth, you would understand him better so I started with his childhood and conditioning. He is an interesting, twisted and unique character who is the centre of this thriller film, and that is just how I saw him. After the dark Freddy are you looking forward to the frothy Shehzada? I am looking forward to all my films with equal enthusiasm. Like I mentioned, I was shooting for both these films also back to back which was quite a flip and switch in personalities. But coming to Shehzada, it is one of the most exciting and large scale projects of mine and I have been working on it for a while now. Shehzada happens to be my first time experimenting with so much action in a family drama, and I am keenly looking forward to its release, to show the audiences this new side of me. Everything in the film is larger-than-life, if the action sequences of the film are jaw-dropping, the dance numbers in the film are completely foot-tapping. So, it’s definitely a mega film coming on February 10, 2023 for all masala-movie lovers and I am very excited for the world to experience it. Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based journalist. He has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.