Kartik Aaryan celebrates Best Actor win, hosts a small party for Chandu Champion

Kartik had also made a post to thank all for his win and how it was special for him because he received it in the presence of his parents. "This hits different when you remember where you started… from the small-town boy who only dreamt of this stage, to the man living it," he wrote on his Instagram.

The actor also went on to thank director Kabir Khan and called him 'one of the finest directors of Indian cinema.' He also expressed gratitude to Sajid and Warda Nadiadwala for their support.

In an interview last year ahead of the release of Chandu Champion, Kartik Aaryan told Moneycontrol how transformative and grueling his preparation for the movie was, noting that his body fat had dropped from 39 percent to just 7 percent in order to fully inhabit the character of Murlikant Petkar.

He explained that the biggest challenge was not just the physical transformation, but also thinking, moving, and breathing like an athlete — a swimmer, a boxer — in a way that the audience would no longer see “Kartik” onscreen, but see “Chandu.”

"I think more than anything, prep mode for this role was really, really challenging because a lot of prep went into looking the part and also getting into the skin of the character in terms of thinking or talking, or just basically the imagery Kabir sir had asked me to portray. So I had to follow a certain kind—may be the body language of an athlete—who would know how to work, who would know how to swim, and who would know how to be in a boxing ring. So, a lot of prep went into all these aspects, and it took a toll on me—both physically and mentally—because it was something that required a lot of patience and persistence. I was just in a state of mind where I was only thinking of Chandu Champion, only thinking of Murlikant Petkar ji and his thought process or anything to do with him and around him. That is something that has been really challenging for me. We used to do lots and lots of workshops, reading sessions, and extensive sessions about, in fact, small, small things about deconstructing the sentences. Joke hisaab se sahi jayenge ya nahi jayenge," he had told MoneyControl.

Kabir Khan, meanwhile, shared that from the very start he never considered any actor other than Kartik for the role, citing a “vibe” and ease of communication between them from their first meeting that made Kartik the undeniable choice.