Karan Johar with Kartik Aaryan. (courtesy: iffmelbourne)
The 14th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2023 kickstarted on Friday, with a press conference. The official Instagram page of IFF Melbourne has shared several glimpses of the event. Many Indian celebrities, including Anurag Kashyap, Rani Mukerji, Vikramaditya Motwane, Mrunal Thakur, and Vijay Varma, have participated in the event. But our eyes were glued to Kartik Aaryan and Karan Johar. The duo, dressed in classy black fits, created a heavy buzz (again) on the Internet as they were photographed together. The Kartik and Karan Johar dynamic has been in the news ever since Dharma Productions announced the recasting of Dostana 2 in 2021.
Posting the images, IFF Melbourne wrote, “The 14th edition of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2023 kickstarted with a press conference this morning. Few glimpses from the star-studded press con! Festival director Mitu Bhowmick Lange addressed the conference and welcomed Minister Nina Taylor to speak a few words.”
Before this, Karan Johar and Kartik Aaryan made it to the headlines after the filmmaker showed up at the premiere of Satya Prem Ki Katha. KJo was joined by Maheep Kapoor, reported ETimes. The film was released on June 29.
The two were also spotted chatting at an award show last year. In the video, Karan Johar and Kartik Aaryan are seen sitting together and laughing. Moments later, we can see Varun Dhawan approaching the actor and taking him onto the stage.
Kartik Aaryan was roped in to play the lead role for Dostana 2 with Janhvi Kapoor and Lakshya Lalwani. However, in 2021, the actor was dropped from the project. At that time, Karan Johar's Dharma Productions had issued a statement on Instagram. It 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.”
Meanwhile, the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne kicked off on August 9 with a special screening of Kartik Aaryan's Satyaprem Ki Katha. The film also stars Kiara Advani. The film festival will also hold a screening of Abhishek Bachchan's Ghoomer as well as Anurag Kashyap's Kennedy.