Kartik Aaryan to headline ‘Aashiqui 3’, Anurag Basu to direct

Bollywood star Kartik Aaryan on Monday said he will feature in the third installment of the 1990 blockbuster hit Aashiqui.

The upcoming musical romantic drama will be directed by Anurag Basu, known for acclaimed movies such as Barfi! and Ludo.

Aashiqui 3 is backed by Bhushan Kumar's T-Series and producer Mukesh Bhatt of Vishesh Films.

Aaryan shared the film announcement on social media via a brief title video of the superhit track Ab Tere Bin Ji Lenge Hum sung by Arijit Singh playing in the backdrop. The song was originally playbacked sung by Kumar Sanu in 1990's Aashiqui.

“Ab Tere Bin Ji Lenge Hum. Zeher Zindagi Ka Pi Lenge Hum #Aashiqui3. This one is going to be Heart-wrenching!! My First with Basu Da,” the Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 star wrote on Instagram.

The makers are yet to announce the female lead of the film.

Basu's frequent collaborator, composer Pritam will be scoring the music for Aashiqui 3.

The original Aashiqui, directed by Mahesh Bhatt and starring Rahul Roy and Anu Aggarwal, was a commercial success owing to Nadeem-Shravan's music and songs penned by Sameer, Rani Mallik and Madan Pal.

A spiritual sequel to the film, Aashiqui 2 (2013) was directed by Mohit Suri and featured Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead.

The second part also turned out to be a huge blockbuster. The songs of the film composed by Jeet Gannguli, Mithoon and Ankit Tiwari with lyrics by Irshad Kamil, Sandeep Nath, Sanjay Masoomm and Mithoon.

In a statement, Mahesh Bhatt congratulated Bhushan Kumar for taking the Aashiqui franchise to the next level.

"You are truly a worthy son of a worthy father. Gulshan ji was a visionary. I Was very fortunate to birth this great franchise with his support. The baton is now in your hand Bhushan. Soar high!" the veteran filmmaker said.