On Tuesday, Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan was honoured with the National Award for Best Actor for his performance in Chandu Champion . A day after receiving the prestigious honour, the actor visited Lalbaugcha Raja in Mumbai to seek Lord Ganesha’s blessings and celebrate the special milestone.
Kartik won his first National Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of India’s first Paralympic gold medallist, Murlikant Petkar, in Chandu Champion. He shared the award with Mammootty, who won for his performance in Bramayugam. Kartik’s performance received critical acclaim While the film underperformed at the box office. Sharing a video of the moment his name was called on stage to receive the award, Kartik wrote a long caption. He began, “Looking back affectionately with a smile at that mumma’s boy from Gwalior who dared to dream of becoming an actor from an environment, where people laugh at such dreams and move on. Finally, I witnessed and lived the moment… still numb with excitement and nervousness. He added, “A dream of a small town boy…the dream of every actor in the country…The National Award for Best Actor🎖️ ‘Chandu Nahi, Champiyon hai Main’ 🥹💪I will always be grateful and indebted to Kabir sir and Sajid sir for trusting me with the responsibility of playing India’s first Paralympic Gold Champion- Murlikant Petkar sir on the big screen. The journey was extremely painful, but the result is as sweet as rasmalai! I feel humbled and emotional at the same time.”
Directed by Kabir Khan, the biographical sports drama was released in 2024 and also featured Vijay Raaz, Bhuvan Arora, Yashpal Sharma and Rajpal Yadav in key roles.
After initially being scheduled for 2026, the film is now slated to release on February 12, 2027. The actor also carried his National Award with him as he arrived to offer prayers. He first bowed before Lord Ganesha and sought Bappa’s blessings before placing his National Award at the deity’s feet. Kartik also shared a picture from her Lalbaugcha Raja visit and wrote, “My Sukh-karta dukh-harta. Blessed beyond words. Thank you bappa!! Kartik will next be seen in Naagzilla, a fantasy comedy directed by Mrighdeep Singh Lamba. The film features Kartik as an icchadhari naag and is backed by Dharma Productions and Mahaveer Jain Films.
On Wednesday, Kartik was spotted at the Lalbaugcha Raja pandal dressed in a traditional kurta.
