What Left Kartik Teary Eyed?

‘Murlikant
sir
saw
the
film
for
the
first
time
alongside
the
army
chief
and
many
other
army
officers.’

‘The
way
he
got
a
standing
ovation
there,
I
got
teary-eyed.
It
was
a
very
emotional
moment
for
all
of
us.’

Chandu
Champion
is
admittedly
the


toughest
film
in

Kartik
Aaryan‘s
career
so
far.

The
Kabir
Khan
directorial
is
based
on
the
life
of
India’s
first
Paralympics
gold
medallist
and
war
veteran
Murlikant
Petkar.

Kartik
pushed
himself
to
make
his
latest
role
seem
as
realistic
as
possible.
He
left
fans
in
awe
with
his
physical
transformation,
which
was
evident
in
the
posters
and
trailer
of
the
film.

Even
after
the
gruelling
filming
schedule
ended
and
the
film
is
ready
for
its
June
14
release,
Kartik
says
he
doesn’t
wish
to
leave
this
character
behind
that
gave
his
life
“so
much
positivity”.

“The
task
was
to
deconstruct
my
image
which
is
previously
set
in
audiences’
mind,”
says
Kartik
as

Mayur
Sanap/Rediff.com
listens
in.

You
trained
very
hard
for
this
film,
not
just
physically
but
also
mentally.
Was
it
difficult
to
come
out
of
this
character
after
the
shoot
ended?

I
have
learned
a
lot
from
this
character.
I
actually
don’t
want
to
come
out
of
it.
(Smiles)

Whether
it
is
physically
or
mentally,
the
entire
process
has
been
very
nurturing.
It
has
given
so
much
positivity
in
life.

The
lifestyle
that
I
embraced
for
the
last
two
years
to
play
this
character,
I
would
like
to
continue
with
it.

When
I
first
heard
the
narration
of
this
film,
I
was
greatly
inspired
by
the
real
life
story.

I
always
had
the
attitude
of
‘Never
give
up’,
but
this
film
has
validated
that
emotion
in
me
so
much
more.
I
want
to
walk
with
the
motto
of
‘The
man
who
never
surrenders’
and
don’t
wish
to
leave
this
character
behind
me.

Was
it
daunting
for
you
to
play
a
real
life
character?

It
was
a
challenging
process
because
I
did
not
have
any
reference
to
play
this
role.

If
you
Google
Murlikant
Petkar,
there
are
a
very
few
images
or
videos
of
his,
especially
from
his
young
age.

Kabir
sir
(Director
Kabir
Khan)
decided
not
to
allow
me
to
meet
Murlikant
sir.
He
had
several
meetings
with
him
and
made
notes
and
pointers.
This
was
my
fodder
to
build
up
the
character.
It
was
a
lengthy
process,
but
we
put
in
our
efforts
to
make
it
work.

Another
difficult
task
was
to
deconstruct
my
image,
which
is
previously
set
in
audiences’
mind.
It
was
important
that
I
look
believable
in
this
part.

There
is
no
romance
or
comedy
or
monologue
in
this
film.
The
makers
evaded
me
from
doing
all
that.

Right
from
body
transformation
to
one
long
take
war
sequence,
everything
about
this
film
was
new
and
challenging
for
me.

I
was
put
in
a
new
arena
as
I
was
doing
a
genre
that’s
so
out
of
my
comfort
zone.

What
got
you
excited
about

Chandu
Champion?

The
story.
I
was
intrigued
right
from
the
beginning.

I
was
also
surprised
how
such
a
hugely
inspiring
tale
had
never
been
celebrated
in
films
before.

I
was
100
per
cent
sure
that
this
story
should
reach
out
to
everyone.
This
was
the
main
reason
I
said
yes
to
this
film.

There
are
also
beautiful
dimensions
in
the
film
that
are
beautifully
written.

What
did
you
learn
from
Murlikant
Petkar
when
you
met
him?

I
met
him
during
the
shoot
when
I
was
filming
the
swimming
portion.

He
saw
me
during
the
shoot
and
complimented
me
for
my
swimming,
as
he
thought
it
was
very
similar
to
his
style.

It
wasa
big
thing
for
me
because
I
thought
all
my
hard
work
from
the
past
two
years
has
paid
off.

He
is
a
war
hero.

He
also
achieved
so
much
in
sports.

He
wears
a
blazer
which
is
embellished
with
medals
that
he
won
for
many
different
things.

There
so
many
facets
to
his
life
that
it
became
a
task
to
showcase
all
of
them
in
a
film.
We
tried
to
showcase
3-4
sports
that
he
excelled
at.

How
did
you
work
on
your
dialect
for
this
role?

The
film
is
in
Hindi,
but
there
are
certain
words
in
Marathi
as
well.
We
worked
a
lot
on
it.
For
example,
instead
of
‘Nahin‘,
I
am
saying
‘Naahi‘
or
not
‘Hu
Main‘,
but
‘Hai
Mai‘.

The
script
had
everything
written
in
it
and
that
helped
me
a
lot
to
do
something
different
with
this
character.

I
am
thankful
to
Kabir
sir
that
he
cast
some
wonderful
actors,
who
bring
their
own
uniqueness
to
the
film.
It’s
because
of
them
my
work
probably
also
shines
through.

Did
you
have
an
emotional
breakdown
during
the
film
shoot?

Yes,
there
were
a
couple
of
scenes
where
I
was
emotionally
overwhelmed.

I
lived
this
character
for
two
years,
so
filming
a
certain
breakdown
scenes
affected
me.

There
is
a
line
in
the
trailer:
‘Main
har
uss
Chandu

ke
liye
ladna
chahta
hu
jo
champion

ban
sakta
hain.’
That
entire
scene
was
very
emotional
for
me
to
shoot.

The
audience
associates
you
with
the
boy
next
door
image.
Is
this
film
a
conscious
effort
on
your
part
to
break
that
image?

I
have
done
films
like

Freddy,
Dhamaka,
Satyaprem
Ki
Katha
also.

There’s
no
strategy
in
my
case,
I
probably
just
follow
my
gut
instinct.
I
wish
to
do
different
kinds
of
films
each
time.

When
a
script
is
offered
to
me,
I
ask
myself
if
I
would
like
to
watch
this
film
in
a
theatre.
Or
whether
I
would
have
fun
while
playing
this
role.

Tomorrow
I
might
do
three
back-to-back
romantic
films,
if
the
story
is
good.
I
won’t
let
go
of
a
good
script,
irrespective
of
genre.

A
lot
of
Hindi
biopics
fail
to
gather
audiences’
interest.
What
makes
this
film
different?

I
think
it
has
nothing
to
do
with
a
particular
genre,
but
the
quality
of
the
film.

Just
because
one
particular
film
didn’t
work,
you
can’t
say
audiences
don’t
want
to
watch
that
genre
anymore.

If
you
make
a
good
film,
people
will
definitely
watch
it.

Chandu
Champion
is
not
a
sports
biopic,
rather
it
shows
a
journey
of
a
person
who
achieved
so
much
in
so
many
different
aspects
of
his
life.

Murlikant
Petkar
is
an
unsung
hero
who
put
our
nation
on
the
global
map.
He
was
a
wrestler,
a
swimmer,
a
boxer,
a
war
hero.
This
is
a
very
unique
story.
This
film
is
a
story
of
human
triumph.

For
me,
the
film
has
to
be
a
mix
of
content
and
commercial
elements.
And
this
film
is
the
right
blend
of
both.

There
was
a
standing
ovation
at
the
first
screening.
With
such
a
positive
reception
coming
out,
how
are
you
feeling?

Yes,
we
hosted
a
special
screening
which
was
attended
by
Murlikant
sir.

He
saw
the
film
for
the
first
time
alongside
the
army
chief
and
many
other
army
officers.

The
way
he
got
a
standing
ovation
there,
I
got
teary-eyed.
Even
Murli
sir
was
out
of
words
when
the
film
ended.

It
was
a
very
emotional
moment
for
all
of
us.