‘Kartik Threw Vanity Out Of The Window’

‘He
just
completely
surrendered
to
his
character
and
my
film.’

Kabir
Khan’s

Chandu
Champion
is
Kartik
Aaryan’s
most
important
film
to
date.

Kabir,
who
has
earlier
worked
John
Abraham,
Salman
Khan
and
Ranveer
Singh,
has
his
own
reasons
for
selecting
Kartik
for
this
one.

“I
needed
somebody
who
can
look
like
a
boy.

“I
needed
somebody
who
was
18
when
he
makes
a
statement,
like
in
the
trailer
he
says
about
Olympics,
you
feel
like,
‘What
a
stupid
boy!
Why
is
he
talking
like
this?’

“I
needed
that
boyishness,
you
know.

“I
think
the
most
important
reason
why
I
signed
Kartik
was
his
ability
to
be
physically
versatile,
and
then
everything
began.

“I
needed….
when
you
see
the
film
you
realise
that
he
achieved
what
is
on
paper.

“His
greatest
achievement
is
that
he
could
make
the
transition
from
age
18
to
35.

“That
naivete
also.
Yes,
yes,
the
boyish
naivete.

“Also,
somebody
who
can
look
endearing,
even
when
his
conduct
is
questionable.

“So,
that
was
a
very
important
quality
for
me.

“And
then
when
you
see
him
and,
you
know,
with
the
sort
of
coming
of
age
for
the
character,
with
the
whole
body
transformation,
because
he
really,
in
the
film,
has
also
lived
two
lives.

“If
you
see
him
in
parts
of
the
film,
he’s
all
chubby
and
he’s
like
the
way
a
village
boy
should
be.
That
is
the
starting
point
of
the
film.”

Kabir
reveals
Kartik
bulked
himself
up
for
the
role.

“He
actually
put
on
all
that
weight.
He
wanted
to
put
on
some
weight
for

Freddy,
but
I
think
he
couldn’t
stop
eating
and
went
on
putting
on
weight.
And
when
I
went
to
him,
he
was
that
weighty.

“So,
you
know,
what
is
funny
is,
what
I
really
found
amusing,
is
when
we
put
out
the
first
poster,
half
the
world
started
saying,
this
is
AI
generated.

“Then
when
the
trailer
came
out,
they
realised,
oh,
he
actually
has
a
body,
because
in
trailer
you
can’t
do
that
amount
of
weight.
You
can’t
fudge
to
that
extent.

“I’m
really
happy
about
this.
He
has
gone
the
extra
mile.
And
whenever
an
actor
goes
that
extra
mile,
you
know,
I
really
wish
that
he
gets
recognised
and
applauded
for
it.”

I
remind
Kabir
that
Salman
Khan
went
that
extra
mile
for
Kabir
in

Bajrangi
Bhaijaan.

“He
did,
and
I’m
glad
he
got
applauded
for
that.
He’s
still
applauded
for
that.

“Whatever
the
outcome
of
this
film,
Kartik
is
a
winner.
I’m
so
happy.
He
deserves
it.

“Yeah,
and
also,
you
know,
I
enjoyed
working
with
him.
For
me,
as
you
know,
for
me,
the
journey
is
very
important.
It’s
very
important.”

Although
lately
Kartik
has
acquired
a
reputation
for
being
meddlesome
Kabir
gives
the
star-actor
a
clean
chit.

“I
honestly
really
enjoyed
working
with
him.
You
know,
there
were
a
lot
of
these
little,
you
know,
how
people
start
saying,
‘Oh,
Kartik
is
a
little
finicky’,
or
‘Kartik
does
this’,
or
‘Kartik
has
to
do
that’.

“He
just
completely
surrendered
to
his
character
and
my
film.
He
just
went
with
the
flow.

“He
threw
vanity
out
of
the
window.
He
never
once
came
and
saw,
‘How’s
my
hair,
how’s
my…’
Because
anyway,
I
cut
his
hair
off.

“There
was
nothing
to
check.
I
gave
him
these
loose

chaddi
banyans
to
wear.

“So,
it
was
so
refreshing
to
see
an
actor
at
the
stage
where
he
is,
you
know,
where
he’s
a
young
guy.

“He’s
known
for
his
fine
comedy.
He
is
this
superstar.
He
has
never
done
something
like
this,
even
remotely
something
like
this.”

Kabir
promises
a
total
transformation
of
Kartik.

“Yup,
it’s
a
total
changeover.
But,
you
know,
I
realise
now,
and
—
not
that
I
do
it
with
a
design
in
mind
—
but
I
realise
that
every
time
I’ve
take
an
actor
and
in
some
way
put
him
or
her
into
a
space
which
is
really
not
theirs,
people
have
really
loved
it.

“You
know,
it
happened
with
me
with
John
and
Katrina
in

New
York.
Or,
you
know,

Bajrangi,
you
know,
Salman
was
pushed
into
that
role
and
people
really
initially,
everybody
said,
‘Why
are
you
doing
it
with
Salman?’

“And
then
when
they
saw
the
film,
they
really
enjoyed
it.

“In
this
case,
I’m
very
happy
with
what
Kartik
has
done,
with
the
kind
of
effort
he’s
put
in.

“Like
I
said
to
somebody,
the
boy
was
known
for
his
monologue.
His
silences
in
this
film
will
speak
louder
than
the
monologue.

“Kartik
used
to
tell
me
that
a
lot
of
people
used
to
not
remember
his
name
and
used
to
say,
he’s
that
guy
with
the
monologue.
He
crossed
that
bridge
long
back.

“It’s
very
different
from
what
he’s
done
so
far.
And
I
think
he’s
enjoyed
it
because
it’s
also
the
first
time
he’s
had
to
go
through
a
process
where
he
has
to
prepare
for
something.
He’d
never
done
it.

“Sometimes
when
you
put
actors
through
processes
and
they
don’t
enjoy
it,
they
get,
you
know,
like
irritated
with
the
unnecessary…
And
also
until
you
put
an
actor
through
the
test,
through
the
test
of
fire,
how
do
we
know
whether
they’re
capable
or
not?

“So,
it’s
actually
you
providing
him
an
opportunity
to
prove
himself
and
he
rising
to
the
occasion.
He
did.
He
truly
did.”

Feature
Presentation:
Ashish
Narsale/Rediff.com