Kartik Aaryan’s 15-year road to the National Award
From the Pyaar Ka Punchnama monologue to a National Film Award for Chandu Champion, Kartik Aaryan's 15-year run is a study in reinvention.
Fifteen years ago, Kartik Aaryan was a young actor from Gwalior with no film-family surname and a single scene that made audiences listen. Now, after a National Film Award for Best Actor and a Filmfare Award for Chandu Champion, his career reads less like a lucky streak and more like a long, deliberate reinvention.
The monologue that made him
His 2011 debut in Pyaar Ka Punchnama gave Bollywood one of its most rewatched confession scenes. That monologue stuck to him so firmly that the industry gave him a nickname: Monologue King. But the label, while valuable, could have become a ceiling.
Small choices, bigger leads
Akaash Vani hinted at a more emotional range, but it was 2018’s Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety that turned him into a bankable leading man. The role mixed mischief and loyalty, and the film’s success pushed open a new bracket of parts.
What followed looked like a test of whether he could leave the formula behind. Luka Chuppi and Pati Patni Aur Woh kept him in the comic zone, while Dhamaka in 2021 put him inside a tense newsroom thriller with a morally uneasy character.
The franchise years and the turning point
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 in 2022 established him as a franchise anchor, and Satyaprem Ki Katha in 2023 asked for vulnerability rather than swagger. But the performance that reset his image came in 2024 with Chandu Champion, where he played Murlikant Petkar, India’s first Paralympic gold medallist.
The physical preparation and dramatic weight of that role brought him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in 2025. In September 2026, the National Film Award for Best Actor confirmed the same verdict. Alongside that reinvention, he returned as Rooh Baba in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, proving the commercial streak was intact.
A shorter way to read the arc:
- 2011: Pyaar Ka Punchnama debut and the monologue.
- 2018-2019: Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, Luka Chuppi, Pati Patni Aur Woh make him a box-office lead.
- 2021-2023: Dhamaka, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and Satyaprem Ki Katha broaden the range.
- 2024-2026: Chandu Champion, a Filmfare Award and a National Film Award.
Why this matters
For an audience that follows stars closely, Kartik’s path is a reminder that an outsider can survive not by being liked once, but by being useful in many registers. His success did not come from a single genre or one franchise; it came from using commercial hits to earn the freedom to attempt harder parts.
What comes next
The slate ahead suggests he is still chasing range: Naagzilla, Captain India, an untitled musical love story with Anurag Basu, and an untitled sports drama with Kabir Khan. If the last 15 years are any guide, the next phase will be judged less by openings than by how far he can stretch.
Source: Filmfare
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