Chandu Champion

Chandu Champion Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Vijay Raaz, Shreyas Talpadei, Bhuvan Arora, Yashpal Sharma, Rajpal Yadav, Sonali Kulkarni

Director: Kabir Khan

What’s Good: The story that needs to be told

What’s Bad: Nothing much

Loo Break: During the interval

Watch or Not?: Yes

Language: Hindi

Available On: Theatrical release

Runtime: 143 Minutes

User Rating:

The movie tells the inspiring story of Murlikant Petkar, India’s first Paralympic gold medalist. It captures his journey from childhood through his military service and culminates in his gold medal victory for India.

Chandu Champion Movie Review: Script Analysis

The narrative begins in 2017 with an elderly Murlikant Petkar (Kartik Aaryan) explaining to the police why he deserves the Arjuna Award, having won the gold medal for India. Hailing from Sangli’s Islampur village, young Murlikant dreams of becoming a wrestler and winning gold at the Olympics. The first hour is engaging, depicting Murli’s childhood, his time in the military, his participation in boxing championships, and the life-altering 1965 Kashmir war where he was shot nine times. Despite surviving a prolonged coma and losing his ability to walk, Petkar’s spirit remains unbroken.

The hurdles in Murlikant Petkar’s life were many, but none had the power to break his morale completely. From childhood, he was teased for his dreams and was called ‘Chandu Champion.’ However, he always remained a fighter. The second hour focuses on how Petkar learns to swim to compete in the Paralympics, aiming to fulfil his dream. His journey is tumultuous and remarkable, filled with unexpected turns that evoke empathy and admiration. Every tragedy and event only brings Petkar closer to his dream.

At one point, I couldn’t help but think how Murlikant Petkar could be called India’s own Forrest Gump. The plot of his life keeps taking an unexpected turn, leaving you worried for him. But every tragedy, every event only takes Petkar closer to his dream. It’s not an easy journey to bring on the big screen. But Kabir Khan, along with writers Sumit Arora and Sudipto Sarkar, have managed to execute it all so well, especially in the first half.

The second half, however, sees a slight loss of momentum with the introduction of more characters and frequent timeline shifts. Despite this, the film remains inspiring, motivating, and respectful of Petkar’s journey. Humour plays a crucial role in adding liveliness to the story, preventing it from becoming overly intense.

Chandu Champion Movie Review: Star Performance

Kartik Aaryan delivers his career-best performance in Kabir Khan’s Chandu Champion. His physical transformation to portray Murlikant Petkar is commendable, reflecting the actor’s dedication to staying true to the character. Kabir Khan has brought out sincerity in Kartik’s performance, allowing him to embody every emotion and dream of Murlikant Petkar with honesty and depth. The actor nails the Marathi accent perfectly. Kartik is incredible throughout.

Supporting actors Bhuvan Arora and Rajpal Yadav provide lighthearted moments in the biopic, offering comedic relief that prevents the film from becoming too serious or tragic. Vijay Raaz, portraying Murlikant’s Tiger Ali, also delivers a solid performance.