Kartik has exchanged the grin for the grim.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 will be Kartik Aaryan's final comedy for at least a year.
The young actor has signed three new films which carry him away from the frothy, lighthearted success of films like Luka Chuppi and Pati Patni Aur Woh.
In Hansal Mehta's Captain India, produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Kartik will play his first real-life character.
Though the identity is not being revealed, it is reportedly inspired by one of India's successful rescue missions from a war-torn country. Kartik, playing a pilot, leads the operation and displays bravery and courage.
In Ekta Kapoor's Freddie, Kartik gets eccentric.
And then is Satyanarayan Ki Katha, an unusual love story produced by Sajid Nadiadwala.
Before these three films hit the screens in 2022-2023, there is Dhamaka, Ram Madhvani's adaptation of a Korean thriller where again Kartik drops the grin in favour of the grim.
It is a calculated move away from the lighthearted image to that of a serious actor.
"Not that comedy is easy. Watch Kartik's comic timing in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. He will remind the audience of Akshay Kumar in the first Bhool Bhulaiyaa film," Anees Bazmee tells Subhash K Jha.