Aashiqui 3: Gulshan Devaiah wants to play Kartik Aaryan's 'leading lady', fans call it 'perfect casting for Dostana 2'

The search for the female lead of Kartik Aaryan-starrer Aashiqui 3 may still be on and a new actor has thrown their hat in the ring, it seems. On Thursday, actor Gulshan Devaiah jokingly expressed his desire to play Kartik’s ‘leading lady’ in the film. Gulshan’s statement came after the film’s makers denied rumours and reports about Jennifer Winget having been cast as the film’s female lead. Also read: Aashiqui 3: Anurag Basu on whether Kartik Aaryan will romance Jennifer Winget

Reports began doing rounds over the weekend that Jennifer Winget had been cast the female lead in Aashiqui 3, which stars Kartik and is directed by Anurag Basu. The film was announced recently on social media. On Wednesday, Anurag denied the rumours in a statement. Film trade analyst Taran Adarsh shared that statement on Twitter. “Team #Aashiqui3 has issued a statement vis-à-vis casting of the leading lady: "The search for leading lady is still ongoing... We would love to share the news with fans as early as possible [as and when finalized],” he wrote.

Sharing this tweet, Gulshan Devaiah wrote, “I offer myself for the position of “Leading Lady” Dhamaka kardenge dono bhai milke pichchar mey likhk ke le loh (Both brothers will kill it together, take it from me in writing).”

Gulshan’s witty remark had fans in splits. One fan wrote, “I guess it would be a perfect casting for Dostana 2.” The now-shelved Dostana 2 as initially supposed to star Kartik alongside Janhvi Kapoor and Laksh Lalwani. Gulshan, for his part, was recently seen in Badhaai Do, where he and Rajkummar Rao played a same-sex couple.

Aashiqui 3 was announced on Monday, September 5. The third instalment of the hit franchise will have music by Pritam. Aashiqui (1990) backed by T-Series and Vishesh Films was helmed by Mahesh Bhatt. Rahul Roy and Anu Aggarwal played the lead roles. The franchise was revived in 2013 with Aashiqui 2, directed by Mohit Suri and starring Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur. It was also a box office success.