Mumbai, March 20: Actor Kartik Aaryan says it was a “proud moment” for him after he was feted with the Maharashtrian of the Year 2025 honour in the Actor category for playing Murlikant Petkar in “Chandu Champion”.

Kartik took to Instagram, where he shared a picture standing on the stage with state’s Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde, and Governor, CP Radhakrishnan.

He wrote: Maharashtrian Of The Year Thank you honourable Governor CP Radhakrishnan ji, Chief Minister @devendra_fadnavis ji and Deputy CM @mieknathshinde sir.”

Upon receiving the award, Kartik expressed his gratitude, saying, “I am truly honored to receive the Maharashtrian of the Year 2025 award. This is a proud moment for me and my family.”

Calling Mumbai his karmabhoomi, he added: “While I hail from Gwalior, Mumbai has been my karmabhoomi—this city has given me my name, fame, home, and everything I have today. Since childhood, my dream was to become an actor and come to Mumbai, and that decision became the turning point of my life.”

“As the Bhagavad Gita says, one should focus on their work without worrying about the results. Awards like the Lokmat Maharashtrian of the Year are a testament to that belief, and I will continue to dedicate myself to my craft,” he added.

“Chandu Champion” is directed by Kabir Khan. It stars Kartik Aaryan as India’s first Paralympics gold medallist Murlikant Petkar. It told the story of an extraordinary man confronting relentless challenges with unwavering determination. His spirit and resilience propel him through adversity, ultimately forging a path to historic achievement.

On the work front, Kartik’s next is with director Anurag Basu, where he will be seen sharing the screen with Sreeleela.

This yet-to-be-titled drama will be produced by Bhushan Kumar under the T-Series banner. While the name of the film has still not been announced, it is believed that the project could be an addition to the popular “Aashiqui” franchise, “Aashiqui 3”. An official confirmation is still awaited.

The makers recently dropped a teaser clip from the forthcoming drama that showed Kartik singing “Tu Meri Zindagi” on stage.

Mumbai, March 19: R Madhavan, Karisma Kapoor, Kriti Kharbanda, Chiranjeevi, Rakul Preet Singh, and several other celebrities have come together to celebrate the incredible return of astronaut Sunita Williams to Earth.

Expressing their admiration and excitement, these stars took to social media to cheer for Williams’ remarkable journey and safe return after her space mission. Madhavan shared a video capturing the spacecraft’s safe landing, with a team of professionals assisting astronaut Sunita Williams as she emerged from the spacecraft.

The ‘3 Idiots’ actor captioned the post, “Welcome back to Earth our Dear Dear Sunita Williams. #sunitawilliams ..Our prayers have been answered…so wonderful to see you safe and smiling. After more than 260 uncertain days in space this is all Gods grace and millions of praying souls prayers being answered Great Job all at #spacexfalcon9 #nasa AND the entire crew. God bless you.”

Kriti and Karisma celebrated Sunita Williams’ safe return to Earth by resharing her videos on their Instagram stories.

Lyricist and poet Manoj Muntashir Shukla shared a video of Williams’ water landing in the Atlantic Ocean. For the caption, he wrote, “If you remember this land, I, Returned from the skies too’ Welcome Sunita! #welcomeback #WelcomeSunita #sunitawilliamsreturn #sunitawillams.”

Chiranjeevi tweeted, “A true blue blockbuster”. He wrote, “Welcome back to earth Sunita Williams; Butch Wilmore !! Historic and heroic ‘home’ coming!!! Went for eight days to space and returned after 286 days, after an astonishing 4577 orbits around the earth! Your story is unmatchably dramatic, utterly nerve-wracking, unbelievably nail-baiting thriller and the greatest adventure ever. A true blue blockbuster!! More power to you!!! @Astro_Suni Kudos to #SpaceXDragon #Crew9 for bringing them back ! #SunitaWilliams.”

Rakul Preet also penned a heartfelt note, calling Sunita Williams’ journey in space a testament to her strength and dedication.

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and her Crew-9 team made a remarkable return to Earth on March 19, following an incredible 9-month mission in space. Alongside Williams, astronauts Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov completed 4,577 orbits around Earth before safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

Mumbai: Jaya Bachchan is one veteran actress who always makes it to the headlines because of her controversial statements. Recently, she was a part of India TV’s She Conclave, and while talking about propaganda films or movies that are supporting government’s social issues, the 76-year-old took a dig at Akshay Kumar’s film Toilet Ek Prem Katha.

When she was asked about the movies that are supporting the campaign of ruling party, Bachchan quickly said, “Propaganda film!” When further asked about movies based social issues supported by government like Akshay Kumar’s Toilet Ek Prem Katha, the veteran actress said, “Abhi aap naam bhi dekhiye, main aise picture khud kabhi naa dekhne jao. Toilet Ek Prem Katha, yeh koi naam hai? Yeh koi title hai? (Look at the name of the film, I would never go to watch such movies. Toilet Ek Prem Katha, is this even a title?).”

She asked the audience whether who will go and watch a movie which has a title like this, when only a few people raised their hands, Bachchan said, “Itne log mein chaar log haath utha rahe hai, very sad. Picture flop hai. (In so many people, only four have raised their hands, very sad. Movie is a flop).”

Akshay Kumar fans are not happy with Jaya Bachchan’s statement and they are slamming her on social media. A netizen wrote, “#JayaBachchan really needs A HELP! HER sickness growing, if arrogance has face its she. She never heard #ToiletEKPremKatha is movie, think it’s good cause movie. Her sickness at its peak.”

Another X user wrote, “#ToiletEkPremKatha & #PadMan are important films to raise awareness in society. Both got critical & commercial success when they released. #PadMan broke the taboo & brought this topic mainstream. It was screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival. #AkshayKumar #JayaBachchan.”

Meanwhile, Toilet Ek Prem Katha, which was released in 2017, was a super hit at the box office. The film had minted Rs. 134.42 crore.