A rundown of Kartik’s journey from Pyaar Ka Punchnama to Chandu Champion

Starting with Pyaar Ka Punchnama Kartik has done 17 movies so far. He  started out with lighter roles that have shades of comedy and romance but with movies like Dhamaka, Freddy and the latest Chandu Champion Kartik has proved that he has got good range. He also tried his hand at an out and out commercial movie Shehzada, a remake of Telugu smash hit Ala Vaikuntapurramulo, though the movie ended up being a disaster because of the weak direction. However to Kartik’s credit he did make for a credible all-round hero.

In Pyaar Ka Punchnama Kartik played one of the frustrated boyfriends; there is a particular scene where Kartik vents outs his anger in a lengthy monologue about issues that men face in contemporary relationships. It struck a huge chord with young boys making Kartik an instant hit.  The sequel of Pyaar Ka Punchnama had an even bigger monologue that Kartik aced. For a long period Pyaar Ka Punchnama image stayed with the actor but thankfully Kartik managed to come out of those shadows.

One of Kartik’s biggest strengths has been his charming nature and an endearing goofiness. A good example of this is Anees Bazmee’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022); in this movie he played the role of Ruhan Randhawa. In the process of helping a girl he pretends to be a fake Baba convincing people that he has the ability to communicate with the spirits of dead people.

Kartik generated a lot of humor with his dialogue delivery and expressions. He brought the house down on many occasions particularly when he pretends to be an expert Baba.

At the same time he was equally intense in the song Ami Je Tomar where he pretends to be possessed by the devil. Apart from his goofiness what also makes Kartik a success is his ability to experiment and work in genres that people don’t associate him with.

Much before Chandu Champion there was Ram Madhvani’s Dhamaka released in the year 2021. In Dhamaka Kartik played the role of a former prime time anchor Arjun Pathak now demoted to a radio jockey. On the personal front too his life isn’t going well. In short he is a disgruntled man. The character is far away from the usual boy next door roles and Kartik did a wonderful job in portraying the different shades.

In the year of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 there was also Shashanka Ghosh’s Freddy a dark psychological romantic thriller about an introvert dentist who craves for companionship. Often times Kartik’s character of Dr Freddy Ginwala is mocked for his social awkwardness. In the title role Kartik aced the many aspects starting from desperation to the eventual dark turn.

The best part of Kartik’s performance was how he showcased the simmering rage beneath the calmness. Even in terms of body language one can see the big variation.  In spite of similarities to Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker Kartik made sure that his performance has its own individuality.

Now to the latest Chandu Champion directed by Kabir Khan. The role of Muralikanth Petkar, a Paralympics champion is a tough one to portray both emotionally and physically.

Kartik in this movie also appeared as an older man for the first time in his career. Before the movie there was lot of chatter about how he went from 39 percent body fat to just 7 percent.  

The physical transformation was definitely extraordinary getting the perfect look to portray an athlete. But more than the physical transformation what stood out was how Kartik showcased the despair of Muralikanth after getting paralyzed waist down. There is a deep sadness including a suicide attempt. Kartik made sure that the audience’s heart went out for Muralikanth, because of which audiences feel happy for Muralikanth when he creates a world record in the sport of swimming.

Talking about romantic dramas Kartik’s best performance in this genre is Satyaprem Ki Katha (2023). Directed by Sameer Vidwan  Satyaprem Ki Katha was an impactful romantic drama focusing on the issue of date rape. Kartik’s Sattu starts off as a goofy guy but there is a solid emotional graph too as the movie takes a serious turn. The performance is particularly good in the high emotional moments. The evolution of Sattu from a simpleton to someone who stands for his wife was very well showcased by the actor.

This is a brief rundown of Kartik’s roles that showcase his versatility. Here’s hoping that this younger star goes from strength to strength and does many more versatile roles.