Kartik Aaryan breaks down after winning Best Actor honour: 'Still processing'
The actor celebrated with his family after being named Best Actor alongside Mammootty
Dubai: Kartik Aaryan has picked up his first National Film Award, taking Best Actor for his role in Chandu Champion, and he shared the emotional moment with fans.
A video he shared on Instagram captures him watching the announcement live with his family, breaking into a scream of joy the second his name is read out, before his parents pull him into an embrace, his mother kissing him on the cheek as the celebrations continue.
"Still processing... Some moments are simply bigger than words, and this is one of them," Kartik wrote alongside the video. "A dream I've carried for years has finally come true. Forever humbled, forever grateful."
On his Instagram Stories, he said: "Dreams do come true."
A shared honour
The 72nd National Film Awards were announced by India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in New Delhi on Saturday evening, decided by a national panel of jurors and covering films certified by the Central Board of Film Certification in 2024.
Kartik shares this year's Best Actor honour with veteran Malayalam star Mammootty, recognised for his role in Bramayugam.
The real Chandu Champion
Chandu Champion tells the story of Murlikant Petkar, India's first Paralympic gold medallist, a figure whose own journey is part of what makes this award feel particularly weighty. Petkar was a soldier with the Indian Army's Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers when he was shot and left paraplegic during an attack on his camp in the 1965 war with Pakistan. He rebuilt his life around sport instead, competing in swimming, javelin, precision javelin, slalom, shot put and table tennis, having already won a boxing gold at the Military Games in Japan before his injury.
His defining moment came at the 1972 Heidelberg Paralympics, where he won gold in the 50m freestyle swimming event with a world record time of 37.33 seconds, becoming the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at either the Olympics or Paralympics. He went on to win the General Championship Cup for five consecutive years between 1969 and 1973, though recognition at home was slow to follow: he received the Padma Shri only in 2018, decades after his historic win, and has since been named for the Arjuna award for lifetime achievement too.
Kartik overhauled his physique to play Petkar, in a film that traces the different phases and setbacks of his life. It marked Kartik's first collaboration with director Kabir Khan, who produced it alongside Sajid Nadiadwala. Chandu Champion released in cinemas worldwide on 14 June 2024.
