Kartik Aaryan visits Statue of Unity ahead of National Film Awards

Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan arrived in Gujarat ahead of the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony in Kevadia. He visited the Statue of Unity and enjoyed local delicacies including thepla, before receiving the National Award for his performance in Chandu Champion.

Mumbai: Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan, who is set to be honoured with the National Award for Best Actor, has landed in Gujarat for the ceremony.

On Monday, the actor took to his Instagram and shared a series of pictures and videos from Kevadia, Gujarat. In the pictures, the actor can be seen next to the Statue of Unity. One of the pictures also shows his meal spread of thepla and other local delicacies.

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He wrote in the caption, “A legacy larger than life #StatueOfUnity”.

He also commented, “Thepla was good”.

His followers lauded the actor for his achievement. One user wrote, “Sooooooooooo Excited About U Receiving Ur National Award”.

Another user wrote, “Sattu back in town”.

A third user wrote, “I’m happy when you happy, it’s simple”.

Meanwhile, the actor will be honoured with the National Award for Best Actor for his work in the sports biopic ‘Chandu Champion’, in which he essayed the role of Paralympic gold medallist Murlikant Petkar.

Kartik shared the National Award for Best Actor with Malayalam cinema legend Mammootty, who will be feted for his work in ‘Bramayugam’.

The 72nd National Film Awards, presented by the National Film Development Corporation of India, were announced on July 18, 2026, at a press conference to honour the best of Indian cinema in 2024. There were 400 entries in the feature film category, 161 in non-feature films, 38 books and 24 critics’ submissions. The political action-thriller ‘Article 370’ was awarded Best Feature Film and the dystopian science-fiction film ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ was awarded Best Popular Feature Film.

The 72nd National Film Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on September 22 in Kevadia, Gujarat, with President Droupadi Murmu presenting the honours. Veteran actor Anant Nag will receive the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award. This edition marks a significant move beyond Delhi.