MUMBAI — In an unexpected turn of events on the popular entertainment database IMDb, a 33-year-old actor portraying a teenager has outperformed some of Bollywood’s biggest icons, including Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, to claim the top spot on the weekly trending list.
Yudhvir Ahlawat has become the talk of the industry following his breakout performance in the recently released OTT film Kartavya, which stars Saif Ali Khan. Ahlawat plays “Harpal,” a pivotal 14-year-old character caught in a dark narrative web where he is manipulated into executing a journalist.
Rising Beyond the Giants
IMDb’s weekly “Popular Indian Celebrities” feature tracks global user engagement and profile views to rank the top 30 trending personalities. While global icons usually dominate the upper echelons of this list, this week tells a different story:
Rank 1: Yudhvir Ahlawat
Rank 3: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (following high engagement from her Cannes Film Festival appearance)
Rank 4: Thalapathy Vijay (the Tamil superstar turned Tamil Nadu Chief Minister)
Rank 24: Junior NTR
Subsequent Ranks: Shah Rukh Khan
The Illusion of Youth
Despite his convincing portrayal of a minor, Ahlawat is a 33-year-old actor from the Jhajjar district of Haryana. Standing at a modest height with distinct facial features, his physical appearance gives him a remarkably youthful look, setting him apart from his family, including his brother and his father, a retired Border Security Force (BSF) veteran.
Ahlawat has previously clarified in interviews that despite his appearance, he is an adult. He made his Hindi cinema debut in 2019’s Saand Ki Aankh and has since appeared in projects like Love Hostel and the web series Co-Ed.
Expressing his gratitude to the audience, Ahlawat noted that the sudden surge of appreciation from cinephiles has been overwhelming.
