Kartik Aaryan’s much-awaited film “Chandu Champion” premiered this Friday, drawing decent crowds on its first day. Directed by Kabir Khan, the film garnered Rs. 4.75 crore at the domestic box office on its opening day, according to Sacnilk. “Chandu Champion” tells the inspiring story of Murlikant Petkar, India’s first Paralympics gold medallist and Padma Shri awardee, highlighting his relentless spirit. Released on June 14, the film is a collaborative project by Kabir Khan, Sajid Nadiadwala, and Pen Studios. The cast includes Vijay Raaz, Shreyas Talpade, Rajpal Yadav, Bhagyashree, and Sonali Kulkarni alongside Kartik Aaryan.
A grand screening of “Chandu Champion” was held in Mumbai on Thursday, attended by notable guests such as Vidya Balan, Ananya Panday, and Alaya F, co-stars of Kartik Aaryan from his previous films. Murlikant Petkar and his family were also present. A heartfelt moment from the screening showed Kartik Aaryan sitting with Petkar and his family. After the film, Petkar’s son, Arjun, was moved to tears and warmly embraced both Kabir Khan and Kartik. Kartik shared this moment on social media, writing, “First screening of Chandu Champion with the Man himself. An evening filled with honour, joy and tears with The Real Champion The Man who refused to surrender Mr Murlikant Petkar.”
Kabir Khan, in an interview with IANS, explained his choice of Kartik Aaryan for the lead role. He said, “When I was writing the script of ‘Chandu’… obviously, when you are writing the script, you have an image in your mind. And that image, that character, has an age, personality, attitude… So, when you have these pointers, the next step is to identify which actor can embody all these characteristics. Very strongly, I felt those characteristics in Kartik Aaryan.”
He continued, “We have never worked before, not even met properly. Then we had a meeting for around 2.5 hours, during which we had a lot of conversations about the film. As a director, during our talks, it’s my job to gauge whether he is the right fit for this character. A director’s gut instinct is very strong. After that 2.5-hour meeting with him, I was very clear that Kartik would be the Chandu Champion.”
Saibal Chatterjee, reviewing for NDTV, rated “Chandu Champion” 2.5 out of 5 stars. He noted, “Chandu Champion might have worked better than it does had the cinematic enactment been a touch less melodramatic and a little more realistic… To be fair, however, Chandu Champion is pacy and enjoyable. It wastes no time in hitting its straps. Such was the nature of the life that it brings to the screen that it has no time to pause for breath. With the lead actor getting into the swing of things with all his might, the exercise isn’t weighed down as other such films are by the cliched tropes of the underdog drama.”