Chandu
Champion
is
Kartik
Aaryan’s
most
ambitious
work
so
far
and
the
actor’s
muscular
gusto
is
undeniable.
There’s
visible
fire
in
the
man’s
belly
but
not
enough
soul,
observes
Sukanya
Verma.
Padma
Shri
awardee
Murlikant
Rajaram
Petkar’s
life
story
has
the
fanciful
air
of
fiction.
A
starry-eyed
Satara
lad’s
first
glimpse
of
glory,
when
a
homie
is
feted
for
winning
a
bronze
medal
in
wrestling
at
the
Olympics,
sows
the
dream
of
scoring
gold
for
his
country.
Determined
to
learn
the
tricks
of
kushti
at
the
local
akhara
and
prove
himself
a
champion
before
the
bullies
dismissing
him
as
‘Chandu’,
he
begs
to
be
coached
by
the
dangal
deities
of
his
neighbourhood.
Once
inside
the
sand
pit
though,
he
succeeds
in
trouncing
the
opponent
and
antagonising
the
village
bigshots.
When
fate
leads
him
to
the
doors
of
the
Indian
Army,
he
begins
his
drill
as
a
cadet.
But
the
Olympic
dream
persists
and
introduces
him
to
boxing
for
which
he
displays
a
natural
flair.
Back
in
the
war,
he
survives
nine
bullets
but
is
paralysed
from
the
waist
down
and
confined
to
languishing
in
a
military
hospital.
Despite
a
bout
of
depression,
he
is
determined
to
pursue
his
childhood
dream
and
trains
to
swim
and
participate
in
Paralympics.
Spanning
1952
to
2017,
it’s
the
extraordinary
manner
of
Murlikant’s
dream
in
the
face
of
relentless
challenges
—
evoking
memories
of
everything
between
Sultan‘s
rustic
work
outs
and
Bhaag
Milkha
Bhaag‘s
army
routine
to
1917‘s
one-take
battlefield
chaos
and
Munich‘s
sneaky
terrorist
attack
—
finally
coming
true
that
guides
Director
Kabir
Khan’s
desire
to
draw
attention
to
a
forgotten
hero
in
Chandu
Champion.
There’s
a
Forrest
Gump-like
whimsicality
to
Murlikant’s
surreal
journey
as
he
survives
baying-for-his-blood
mobs,
bullets
and
poison.
Kabir
Khan’s
by-the-numbers
biopic
overlooks
to
appreciate
this
in
its
pursuit
of
guts
and
glory.
Often
the
myth-making
precedes
the
man
as
Chandu
Champion,
co-written
by
him,
Sumit
Arora
and
Sudipto
Sarkar
is
preoccupied
by
the
broader
picture
to
offer
a
portrait
of
the
man.
Kabir
Khan
understands
the
language
of
sport,
the
hysteria
it
generates
and
the
nostalgia
it
perpetuates
all
too
well
as
highlighted
in
’83,
his
most
realised
work
so
far.
Compared
to
its
heartfelt
approach,
Chandu
Champion
is
a
movie
made
out
of
calculations,
not
spirit
or
insight.
One
could
watch
its
entire
two
hours
and
23
minutes
on
mute
and
still
know
what
the
fuss
is
all
about
over
the
course
of
its
stereotypical
sentiment
and
formulaic
imagery.
Chandu
Champion
plays
out
like
a
series
of
training
montages
featuring
kushti
training,
army
training,
boxing
training,
swimming
training,
boosted
by
rousing
songs
echoing
emotions
of
delight,
discipline,
swagger
and
hope
to
underscore
Murli’s
status
quo
from
dreamer
to
go-getter
to
rising
star
to
underdog
to
triumphant.
Between
these
monotonous
tropes
and
the
storytelling
slipping
into
sanctimonious
spells,
every
character
is
positioned
like
a
cliched
detail
within
the
scenario
—
the
no-nonsense
army
chief,
stern
but
kindly
nurse,
goofy
but
caring
ward
boy,
a
silly,
supportive
best
friend,
a
never-say-die
coach
and
his
arsenal
of
motivational
speeches,
journalists
ready
to
spread
the
good
word
about
an
unsung
hero,
a
pretty
NRI
attraction
on
the
international
scene…
Their
predictability
feels
somewhat
comforting
in
the
reliable
talents
of
Vijay
Raaz,
Rajpal
Yadav,
Sonali
Kulkarni
and
Yashpal
Singh.
Oddly
though,
Murlikant’s
immediate
family
remain
an
indifferent
presence
throughout
his
highs
and
lows.
Chandu
Champion
unfolds
in
the
flashbacks
of
a
proud
man
in
inconsistent
prosthetics
and
sloppy
accent
recounting
his
larger-than-life
tale
inside
a
screwy
police
station
setup
where
Brijendra
Kala’s
comic
prowess
as
a
sports
enthusiast
and
Shreyas
Talpade’s
authentic
Marathi
manus
first
highlight
the
weakness
of
Kartik
Aaryan’s
portrayal
as
Murlikant
Petkar.
The
difference
in
how
they
both
pronounce
‘Jadhav’
itself
is
a
dead
giveaway.
But
as
its
sepia-toned
action
shifts
from
the
interiors
of
Maharashtra
to
the
matka
dens
of
Mumbai
to
the
sprawling
Olympic-size
swimming
pool
in
Munich,
Cinematographer
Sudeep
Chatterjee’s
meticulously
choreographed
frames,
be
it
shots
resembling
Warli
art
or
sight
of
a
sun
soaked
scoreboard
through
the
eyes
of
a
swimmer
—
elevate
the
dynamism
of
its
feverishly
staged
contests
against
a
mandatory
exuberant
score.
Chandu
Champion‘s
aim
of
sharing
Murlikant
Petkar’s
legend
is
equalled
in
Kartik
Aaryan’s
excitement
to
become
him
from
age
18
to
80
for
celluloid.
They
do
not
share
any
physical
resemblance
and
yet
Kartik’s
physical
transformation
is
his
biggest
contribution
to
the
role.
It’s
his
most
ambitious
work
so
far
and
the
actor’s
muscular
gusto
is
undeniable.
There’s
visible
fire
in
the
man’s
belly
but
not
enough
soul.
Kartik’s
performance
is
rooted
in
showboating
and
a
tendency
to
overstate
moments
of
angry
sentiment,
comical
anxiety
or
maudlin
sincerity,
which
only
underline
the
laboured
energy
of
his
delivery.
His
martyr
theatrics
and
die-hard
zeal
heighten
the
biopic’s
impact
in
magnifying
any
hint
of
happiness
or
humiliation
for
the
sake
of
a
crowd-pleasing
melodrama.
That
may
be
enough
to
please
Chandu
but
not
a
champion.
Chandu
Champion
Review
Rediff
Rating:
