Actor Ayushmann Khurrana received his first National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in the 2018 film Andhadhun on Monday. The actor received the award from Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and later thanked his fans on Instagram.

Ayushmann wore a quirky white kurta-churidar paired with a black achkan for the event. He shared a video clip from the ceremony showing him receiving the award from the Vice President. He captioned it, “Thank you for the #Andhadhun love.”

Ayushmann’s brother and actor Aparshakti Khurana showered the post with several emojis. Actors Tabu, Aishwarya Lekshmi and Manav Vij also showed their love for the actor in the comments section. Several fans wrote, “Well deserved,” in response to his big win. Many others commented, “So Proud of u.”

Ayushmann shared the Best Actor award with Vicky Kaushal who won the award for his performance in the film, Uri: The Surgical Strike. Both the actors sat side by side at the award ceremony along with Akshay Kumar. Ayushmann had more reasons to cheer as Andhadhun also got the Best Film and Best Adapted Screenplay. Director Sriram Raghavan received the award from the President for the film. His film Badhaai Ho won the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.

The winners of the 66th National Film Awards were announced in August this year. Talking about sharing the Best Actor award with Vicky, Ayushmann had written on social media, “This guy is a gem. As soon as he got to know about his/our victory in the National Awards, he called me and congratulated me. Vicky yaara, I’m so proud of you. Thank you for being so gracious. Lots of love.”

He had also said in a statement, “It’s truly humbling and hugely gratifying to win the coveted National Awards. As an artist, I have always tried to back disruptive content that stands out for its quality content. Today’s honour is a validation of my hard work, my belief system, my journey in movies and my reason to be an actor in the first place. Over and above my personal win, I’m thrilled that both the films that I have done - AndhaDhun and Badhaai Ho have won at the prestigious National Awards. It again validates that people of our country want to see cinema that entertains, that they can cherish, discuss and endorse.”