For his performance as the paralympic gold medalist, Murlikant Petkar in Chandu Champion, Kartik Aaryan has just won the prestigious Best Actor award at the 72nd National Film Awards for his extraordinary performance in the biographical sports drama.
Announced today on July 18, 2026, he shares the country’s top acting honour with Malayalam cinema legend Mammootty. This monumental achievement follows his earlier Best Actor win at the 2025 Filmfare Awards for the same role, solidifying his transformation from a romantic-comedy star into one of India’s most critically acclaimed leading men.
Kartik earlier headlined the massive blockbuster Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, which grossed over ₹400 crores worldwide. He took home the iconic Black Lady for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 2025 Filmfare Awards.
Kartik shot to overnight fame with his iconic, viral 8-minute monologue in his debut film Pyaar Ka Punchnama (2011). Successfully pivoted from lighthearted rom-coms like Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety and Luka Chuppi to dark, complex thrillers such as Dhamaka and Freddy.
Born Kartik Tiwari on November 22, 1990, in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, he pursued an engineering degree before breaking into cinema as a self-made outsider.
Often referred to as a favourite face for major corporations, he endorses over forty prominent global and domestic brands, including Skechers India. Kartik maintains a massive global fan base with over 50 million followers on his official Instagram Profile.
Chandu Champion stands tall, and it stands in a league of its own. It is a fluent, furiously passionate look at the life of an extraordinary achiever who plunges headlong into whatever takes his fancy and then thinks about the consequences.
Murlikant Petkar’s stunning achievements are not in the public eye. If the truth be told, most of us never heard of him until this film. It therefore comes as a surprise to see his breathtaking achievements being so diligently recreated on screen. This is the way a bio-pic should be: celebrating but not salivating over a remarkable life.
Kartik, as Murli, came into his own with a performance that is redolent with industriousness. While Ranveer Singh as Kapil Dev in Kabir Khan’s 83 attempted to impersonate the original, Kartik Aaryan doesn’t try to walk, talk and behave like Murlikant Petkar. Also, lest we forget, Ranveer played a cricket celebrity who is very much in our midst, constantly seen in the media’s eye, and much loved by his fans. Kartik, while playing an unsung hero, brings a cheerful, tuneful vibe to the character. I don’t know how likeable Murlikant is in real life. But Kartik makes him eminently endearing on screen.
We have seen an abundance of bio-pics in recent times about sung and unsung heroes, about politicians, gangsters, and sportspersons. Chandu Champion navigates through the underdog’s climb to the top, negotiating all the predictable tropes but ensuring that none of it feels overfamiliar or remotely jaded.
I once asked Kartik Aaryan’s Christopher Columbus, Luv Ranjan, what separated Kartik from costars in Pyaar Ka Punchnaama, and his reply was illuminating. “All the newcomers in Pyaar Ka Punchnaama were talented and hardworking. There is no explanation for why Kartik raced forward. Karma, is the only explanation.”
After Pyaar Ka Punchnaama, Kartik went through the entire gamut of struggle, from knocking on producers’ doors to auditioning for substandard roles, one of them being Subhash Ghai’s Kanchi, where Kartik, billed as Kartik Tiwary, was given the outsider’s treatment. Mishti was the cynosure of Ghai’s eyes, so much so that when the Kanchi team was called on Kapil Sharma’s show, Ghai, Mishti and Mithun Chakraborty took centrestage while Kartik was called on the set for only a few minutes at the end.
Last year on his birthday when I asked his secret formula for success, Kartik had explained, “I travelled in trains, changed clothes for auditions at railway station washrooms, lived in a small room with twelve people and auditioned tirelessly. Once you get a break, the struggle doesn’t end. Despite having Pyaar Ka Punchnama grabbing so many eyeballs and people recognizing me as the Monologue-Guy… it wasn’t easy even then. The struggle to make sure that people see the potential in me and so do the makers, continued…. Today when I look back… I feel that the struggle can get tough, but it should not shake your focus. Even today, after being a part of a 100 or a 200-crore club film, I feel even more motivated to work harder ahead. So if any outsider is reading this, let me tell you: do not get tired of hard work. Consistent hard work is the only thing that has helped me to be able to live my dream today.”
Kartik Aaryan faced some major duds like Akaash Vani, Kanchi and Guest In London until Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety put him in the top slots. Three years later, Bhool Bhulaiya 2 perched him near the top where he longed to be.
In an interview in 2018, Kartik recalled his days of struggle with no acrimony. “I started really young and was the youngest actor to debut as a lead in a movie and before entering the industry a senior person had told me once that generally, it takes 7 to 8 years to make your identity in this city, Mumbai. I feel you need to go through your own journey of struggle. It’s important; it’s necessary. It teaches you a lot about life. It makes you value things in life. I used to travel from Navi Mumbai to Andheri for auditions via local train every day. I used to get ready in railway stations’ washroom. But I had no option. I didn’t know anyone in the city. But today I feel happy and proud when I look back at those days.”
Indeed, Kartik Aaryan has much to be proud of.
