Chocolate boy levels up

Chandu Champion ushers in a mature Kartik Aaryan, one who is ready to shoulder the weight of an emotional, meaty narrative

- POOJA BIRAIA JAISWAL

An Indian soldier, who took nine bullets in the 1965 war and lost both his legs, went on to win his country its first ever medal at the Paralympics in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1972.

Murlikant Petkar was awarded the Padma Shri in 2018, but not many people outside the Indian Army knew of him. Chandu Champion, starring Kartik Aaryan, tells his story buried in the dusty pages of history.

Its director, Kabir Khan, could hardly believe a man of this grit and calibre could even exist. "It was shameful that we as a nation did not know of this man who had done us so proud early on after independence," said Khan. "I drove to his residence in Pune to see him in flesh and blood.

I was convinced that his story had to be told." Khan had directed 83, the story of Kapil Dev's cricketing glory, but the soldier story posed a different challenge. Unlike with the Indian captain, there was no real video record of Petkar's past. Khan gave Aaryan notes of his meeting with Petkar, and the actor transformed himself. So poignant is Aaryan's depiction that our lasting memory of the unsung Petkar is the actor himself. He, in fact, met Petkar only after the shoot was done.