Jun 14, 2025 06:16 PM IST

Kabir Khan talks about his movie Chandu Champion, and the efficiency of the lead actor, #Kartik Aaryan, because the movie completes one yr.

Kabir Khan’s Chandu Champion completes one yr of launch immediately. The filmmaker dropped at life the phoenix-like journey of Paralympic champion and battle hero #Murlikant Petkar within the acclaimed biopic. #Kartik Aaryan, who performed Petkar, walked away with a variety of plaudits as nicely, together with his efficiency being known as top-of-the-line of his profession. In an unique chat with HT, the filmmaker remembers how individuals had initially doubted Kartik’s casting when the movie was introduced, and the way everybody’s opinion modified after the discharge.

Kabir Khan talks about his movie Chandu Champion, and the efficiency of the lead actor, #Kartik Aaryan.

Kabir Khan on the doubts about Kartik’s casting

Chandu Champion continues to win laurels even a yr after its launch, with Kartik himself bagging 4 Best Actor awards. A proud Kabir says, “I am really glad that the really incredible journey that Kartik had is being recognised. It validates my belief in him.”

Reflecting on the journey of the movie from its inception to the eventual reception, Kabir says, “I would always be questioned. People would ask me, ‘Why do you want Kartik?’ But in my entire career, I have always enjoyed doing that – putting people into roles they have never done before. People questioned me casting #Katrina Kaif for New York, saying there are no songs and dances and whatnot. They wondered why I was doing #Bajrangi Bhaijaan with Salman right after giving a huge action hit in #Ek Tha Tiger. And people were not convinced by Ranveer’s casting for 83. But in the end, they all worked. It’s a director’s intuition, maybe.”

But regardless of the doubts that folks round him had, Kabir says he was steadfast in his perception in his lead actor. “It wasn’t an overnight decision, but made over a series of meetings. I had seen very little of his work, but I liked the boyish innocence in him and his attitude. That worked for this role. And then he threw himself into prep for over a year,” he explains.

Why Kartik ought to win the National Award

Kabir says he has heard the chatter round a National Film Award win for Kartik for Chandu Champion, which initially began with fan golf equipment on-line and is gaining traction now. “If not this performance, then what?” he says matter-of-factly, including, “It’s the portrayal of a man that genuinely moved every person who saw this film. And I am not saying it because it’s my film. But genuinely, anyone who watched Chandu Champion was moved to tears by it. I continue getting messages from people who keep discovering this film, saying, ‘Oh my God! We had no idea that Kartik had this in him.’ At the end of the day, if the National Award is for a performance that moved the whole country and brought this great hero back to the national consciousness, then he is definitely a serious contender.”

Chandu Champion additionally starred #Bhuvan Arora, #Vijay Raaz, Yashpal Sharma, #Rajpal Yadav, #Aniruddh Dave, #Shreyas Talpade, and Sonali Kulkarni. The movie is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

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