Love Aaj Kal and its thundering failure seems to have left its leading man Kartik Aryan unscathed and pretty much unfazed. Now shooting in Jaipur for Anees Bazmee’s Bhool Bhulaiya 2 Kartik, says Bazmee, fits comfortably into Akshay Kumar’s shoes.

Says Anees, “I can’t think of any other actor who could be so comfortable doing Bhool Bhulaiya 2. Kartik is the perfect fit. He is dedicated to his character with the same passion as Akshay.”

While the film has failed, the attempt at a raw real performance in Love Aaj Kal has gone down well with the audience, and we hear producer Dinesh Vijan who earlier scored a big hit with Kartik Aaryan in Lukka Chuppi has already signed Kartik for a third film which, contrary to rumors, won’t be directed by Imtiaz Ali.

Kartik is also shooting Karan Johar’s Dostana 2. So impressed is the producer by Kartik’s dedication and sincerity that he too has Kartik in mind for another Dharma Production.

As for Imtiaz Ali, it seems he will find it very hard to direct his next film anywhere in the near future. After two back-to-back debacle Jab Harry Met Sejal and now Love Aaj Kal a majority of the producers and production houses in Mumbai feel Ali is making the same film all over again.

A major independent producer with a string of superhits to his credit says, “We have Imtiaz Ali signed up. But I think he needs to take break before doing his next film.”