Kartik Aaryan, Ananya Panday On Gen Z Love: 'At The End Of The Day, Everyone Wants Commitment'

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Dubai got its share of rain for the year, and it was the kind of unexpected albeit necessary drizzle that instantly romanticises the city - and Kartik Aaryan is clearly enjoying the mood.

“Romance,” he says instantly, when asked what a rainy day looks like for him. With Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri to promote, the timing feels right.“We're promoting a love story, a romantic film, so I guess the rain is a good backdrop for that.”

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Ananya Panday, his co-star, agrees, pointing out the“nice sunset,” before quickly clarifying that it wasn't a full-blown storm. But they had arrived a day after the rain did its job.

“Maybe we cleared the sky,” she laughs.

That easy back-and-forth sets the tone for a conversation that's less about grand declarations of love and more about how romance actually looks - and feels - for a generation constantly accused of swiping too fast and moving on even faster.

The film's title, Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri, is a mouthful - and both actors admit it still trips them up.“I still mess it up,” Ananya confesses.“Because I say tu mera, because I'm seeing it from a girl's perspective sometimes. So I say tu mera, main teri, main tera.”

Kartik, unsurprisingly, blames her.“And because of her, I mess it up. And so many times, a lot of people from our teams say that we messed it.”

But at its core, Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri looks like a romantic film that doesn't shy away from emotional vulnerability. Both actors describe a shoot that swung between extremes.

“There were days when it was like a ten, and then there were days where it was a one,” Ananya says, rating the drama on a scale where ten equals one of Kartik's famously long monologues.“The film has a very strong emotional core, but then it's also very light and very fun.”

Kartik calls it“something like a holiday” thanks to shoots across Croatia, Agra, and Jaipur - until the heavier scenes kicked in.“Those were the days which were dramatic,” he says.“But other than that, it was a really fun shoot.”

The emotional duality mirrors the film's take on love itself. Kartik's character is carefree, sometimes reckless, but deeply rooted in family values.

“Everybody wants that true love,” he explains.“You want that one person in your life who you can trust, who you can love, who you can say anything to.”

He adds that his character is also“a mama's boy,” firmly anchored in family.

Ananya's Rumi, on the other hand, is“very strong-headed” and fiercely independent.“Once she makes up her mind, it's something that she really sticks to,” Ananya says. But even Rumi, she notes, believes in family at her core, a detail that subtly ties both characters together.

Do Gen Zs actually believe in love?

The conversation inevitably circles back to Gen Z, a generation often painted as emotionally detached. Both actors push back against that narrative.

“Yeah, for sure,” Ananya says when asked if she believes in old-school romance. Kartik cuts in, half-joking,“I mean, everybody does. No matter how much you say, today's relationship, Tinder-”

“But at the end of the day, everyone wants commitment,” Ananya finishes.

She argues that Gen Z might actually be the most emotionally expressive generation yet.“They're talking about feelings,” she says.“I think it's a very westernised thing that all these terms have come in.”

Kartik takes a more sociological view. He believes technology has flattened emotional distances.“We're exposed to too much information,” he explains.“Earlier, there were distances, there was value. Now there are fewer distances.”

Strip away social media, he insists, and the core desire remains unchanged.“We're all humans. We seek love.”

Red flags, green flags, and rewriting the rules

When it comes to romance“rules,” Ananya is clear about what she rejects.“The cultural expectation that the boy is supposed to be the provider and the woman is supposed to be the homemaker,” she says.“That imbalance is something I disagree with.”

Kartik agrees change is already underway, even if slowly. For him, love is less about rules and more about instinct.“It's free-flowing,” he says.“Love has to flow freely.”

Their red and green flags are similar. For Ananya, red flags include“lying, disrespect, not being understanding,” while green flags boil down to laughter, loyalty, friendship, and mutual understanding. Kartik adds one key word:“Mutual respect.”

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Asked to imagine their characters breaking up, Kartik admits he wouldn't move on quickly in real life - but his character would. Ananya believes Rumi would try to convince herself she's moved on.“In her mind, she would not,” she says.“But she would make herself believe.”

It's an honest answer, and perhaps the most Gen Z of all - the performance of healing, even when the feelings haven't caught up yet.

Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri releases in the UAE cinemas on December 25.

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