Kabir Khan feels people going from 'why Kartik Aaryan' to 'he deserves National Award' for Chandu Champion validates him

Hindustan Times

14-06-2025

Kabir Khan's Chandu Champion completes one year of release today. The filmmaker brought to life the phoenix-like journey of Paralympic champion and war hero Murlikant Petkar in the acclaimed biopic. Kartik Aaryan, who played Petkar, walked away with a lot of plaudits as well, with his performance being called one of the best of his career. In an exclusive chat with HT, the filmmaker recalls how people had initially doubted Kartik's casting when the film was announced, and how everyone's opinion changed after the release.
Chandu Champion continues to win laurels even a year after its release, with Kartik himself bagging four 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 film 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 despite the doubts that people around him had, Kabir says he was steadfast in his belief 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.
Kabir says he has heard the chatter around a National Film Award win for Kartik for Chandu Champion, which initially started with fan clubs online and is gaining traction now. "If not this performance, then what?" he says matter-of-factly, adding, "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 also starred Bhuvan Arora, Vijay Raaz, Yashpal Sharma, Rajpal Yadav, Aniruddh Dave, Shreyas Talpade, and Sonali Kulkarni. The film is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.