New Delhi: Kartik Aaryan was not allowed to consume sugar for almost a year by director Kabir Khan while filming Chandu Champion. But the filmmaker decided to celebrate Aryan’s National Film Award win in the most-circle way imaginable: treating him to his favourite cheat meal, rasmalais.
After Aaryan won the Best Actor in a Leading Role award for the 2024 sports drama, Khan shared the actor celebrating with the team on Instagram. Reflecting on their journey, which began with the film’s announcement in 2022, Khan called Aaryan a “champion in every sense of the word.”
The filmmaker also shared that the National Award announcement came exactly four years after they first announced Chandu Champion.
“And exactly four years later to the day after our announcement came another announcement that brought the journey full circle—Kartik got the NATIONAL AWARD for Best Actor for CHANDU CHAMPION,” Khan said.
He ended the post with a playful nod to the film’s title, and Aaryan’s famously strict diet during its making.
“Ye sahi mein Chandu nahin Champion hai. Aur is khushi mein ek nahi do Rasmalai toh banti (He’s not just Chandu—he’s a true champion. And to celebrate this, we’ve got to have not just one, but two Rasmalais),” he wrote.
The rasmalai reference goes back to Aaryan’s physical transformation for Chandu Champion. The actor underwent a year of intensive training and followed a rigorous diet to play Murlikant Petkar, India’s first Paralympic gold medallist in freestyle swimming. After wrapping up the film, Aaryan had revealed that he could finally indulge in his favourite cheat meal, rasmalai, after staying away from it for a year.
Directed by Khan and produced by Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, Chandu Champion was released in 2024.
At the 72nd National Film Awards, Aaryan shared the Best Actor in a Leading Role honour with Malayalam star Mammootty, who was recognised for his performance in Bramayugam.