Kartik Aaryan Visits Ujjain Mahakaleshwar Temple After First National Award Win

Kartik Aaryan visits Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain after winning his first national award.

Fresh from his massive victory at the 72nd National Film Awards, actor Kartik Aaryan took a break from the glitz of Bollywood and headed straight to Ujjain. The actor visited the holy Mahakaleshwar Temple with his parents and offered prayers to Lord Shiva and participated in the powerful Shayan Aarti.

Thanksgiving and Traditions

If you follow Kartik, you may know he has a habit of turning to his faith in life’s biggest moments. He continued that tradition and was seen in traditional white ethnic dress, standing peacefully with folded hands in the Nandi Hall. He followed temple traditions, whispering his private prayers into the ear of Nandi Maharaj and then posting a peaceful, earthbound photo from the trip with a straightforward caption on his Instagram: "Jai Mahakal".

A Milestone to Celebrate

The trip to Ujjain comes after the biggest achievement of his career so far. Kartik bagged the coveted Best Actor trophy for his unfiltered, high-intensity bodily and emotional metamorphosis in Kabir Khan’s biographical sports drama Chandu Champion, in which he played India’s first-ever Paralympic gold medallist, Murlikant Petkar. (He shares the top honour this year with Malayalam superstar Mammootty, for Bramayugam).

A day earlier, the internet was flooded with an emotional video of Kartik and his mother jumping for joy and celebrating the news together. From sharing tears of joy at home to seeking blessings at one of India's most revered shrines, it is clear the actor is keeping himself grounded as he basks in a career-defining moment