Mumbai, Sep 7 (IANS): Bollywood star Kartik Aaryan, who was last seen in the sports biopic ‘Chandu Champion’, sought blessings at Lalbaugcha Raja during the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in the city on Saturday.

The actor was seen dressed in a blue shirt and pants, and sported a light stubble. He also clicked a selfie with the idol of Lord Ganesha.

The maximum city of Mumbai is drenched in the colours of the biggest celebrations for Ganesh Chaturthi starting Saturday. The city is known for hosting iconic Ganpati celebrations similar to Durga Pujo in Kolkata. Many members of the film fraternity flock to Ganpati pandals, particularly Lalbaugcha Raja and Andheri Cha Raja to seek blessings of Lord Ganesha during the holy period.

Indian freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak played a pivotal role in initiating the widespread celebration of Ganeshotsav during India's struggle for independence. His idea was to shift the celebration of Ganeshotsav from private homes to public spaces, believing that this would bring people together and foster a sense of unity, and help in the freedom struggle.

The festival has also been used as an important plot point in many Bollywood films as well like ‘Satya’, the Hrithik Roshan-starrer ‘Agneepath’ and the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer ‘Don’ which marked his character’s entry into the film.

Many members of the film fraternity welcome Lord Ganpati to their homes for different periods during the festival with the practice of Visarjan for bidding the adieu to the lord with the vow of welcoming him sooner the next year.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Kartik was last seen in the titular role in ‘Chandu Champion’ which is based on India's first Paralympic gold medalist, Murlikant Petkar. He won an individual gold medal in the 1972 Summer Paralympics, in Heidelberg, Germany.