'Kartavya' actor Yudhvir Ahlawat beats Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai on IMDb popularity chart

Highlights

• Kartavya actor Yudhvir Ahlawat is 33 despite many viewers assuming he was a child actor
• The actor has climbed to the top of IMDb India’s popularity rankings after the Netflix film’s release
• Ahlawat’s theatre background includes work on Mughal-e-Azam: The Musical

Kartavya turns little-known actor into IMDb’s most searched Indian star

Kartavya has not only boosted interest in Saif Ali Khan’s latest performance but also unexpectedly turned supporting actor Yudhvir Ahlawat into one of the internet’s biggest breakout names.

Ahlawat, who plays Harpal in the Netflix drama, has sparked widespread curiosity online because many viewers believed he was a child actor. In reality, the performer is 33 years old.

The actor’s youthful appearance and portrayal of an abused Haryanvi boy at the centre of the film’s story led audiences to assume he was much younger. Following the release of Kartavya on Netflix earlier this month, searches for Ahlawat surged sharply, pushing him to the top of IMDb India’s popularity rankings.

According to IMDb’s latest list tracking the most-viewed celebrity profiles, Ahlawat overtook major stars including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vijay and Shah Rukh Khan.

Theatre background helped shape the actor behind Harpal

Although many viewers see him as a new discovery, Ahlawat has spent years working in theatre before gaining wider recognition on screen. He has been associated with director Feroz Abbas Khan’s stage production Mughal-e-Azam: The Musical and has performed across India and internationally.

His film career began with Saand Ki Aankh, starring Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar, where he played the son of sharpshooter Chandro Tomar. He later appeared in Shamshera alongside Ranbir Kapoor and also featured in Love Hostel with Bobby Deol and Vikrant Massey.

Ahlawat comes from Sheriya village in Haryana’s Jhajjar district. His father, Gyan Singh Ahlawat, served in the Border Security Force. The actor has previously spoken about how his shorter height and youthful face often led people to mistake him for a child even in his late twenties.

Netflix release drives global attention

IMDb’s rankings are based on traffic to celebrity pages from users around the world, with actors, directors and writers all competing for positions on the list. Ahlawat’s sudden rise reflects the scale of attention generated by Kartavya following its Netflix debut on 15 May.

While established stars usually dominate the rankings after major theatrical releases or public appearances, this week’s chart was led by an actor many audiences had never heard of before the film arrived on streaming.

For Ahlawat, the attention marks an unusual breakthrough — one driven less by stardom and more by viewers trying to answer a simple question after watching Kartavya: who exactly is Harpal?