Chandu Champion Movie Review: Kartik Aaryan is Strictly Satisfactory in Kabir Khan's Over-Long, Overtly Formulaic Biopic (LatestLY Exclusive)

Chandu Champion Movie Review: In India, there are truly millions of real-life figures who are inspirational and whose life stories need to be told and retold, like Murlikant Petkar, the gold medal winner in the 1972 Paralympics. Yet, there is hardly a good biopic that doesn't feel 'manufactured' or formulaic, despite the best intentions. Such is the case with Petkar's biopic, Chandu Champion. While the film may have its heart in the right place, Kabir Khan's direction finds its tone and pacing all over the place, with a strictly okay performance from its lead star, Kartik Aaryan. On Chandu Champion's Release Day, Kartik Aaryan Thanks Kabir Khan For Choosing Him To Play 'Real-Life Hero' Murlikant Petkar Onscreen (Watch Video).

Chandu Champion uses a flashback framing narrative to tell the story of Murlikant Petkar. The movie begins in 2017 with an older Murlikant (Kartik Aaryan) - who looks more like Chellam sir from The Family Man in that ill-fitting old man makeup - wanting to file a complaint at the police station against the President of India for not giving him an Arjuna medal that he was promised. The bemused cops, led by their HO (Shreyas Talpade), soon learn that Murlikant doesn't want the medal for personal glory but for a bigger cause. In the process, they also learn about his incredible life story through him.

Chandu Champion goes through Petkar's life journey in an episodic manner, first as a child in Satara who is inspired by Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav, the first individual bronze medal winner for Independent India in the 1952 Olympics. Murlikant aims higher at that young age - he wants an Olympic gold medal but is ridiculed by his schoolmates and villagers for harbouring impossible dreams, earning him the nickname 'Chandu Champion.' A determined Murlikant, however, takes up wrestling to fulfil his dreams despite his strict father's orders to focus on his studies.

Watch The Trailer of Chandu Champion:

Soon, Murli finds himself in army barracks after he is told by a newfound bestie, Karnail Singh (Bhuvan Arora), that joining the army is a way to enter the games. Murli ditches wrestling for boxing, gets coached by Tiger Ali (Vijay Raaz), and turns into a nearly unbeatable champion. However, he loses control of his lower limbs after being shot down in Kashmir during the 1965 Indo-China War. Murli's Olympic dreams might have been shattered, but he finds new hope in another special major event - the Paralympics.

Chandu Champion Movie Review - Obsession With the 'Biopic' Formula

The best scene in Chandu Champion comes before the interval. A tense conversation between Murli, Ali, and Karnail is interrupted by an attack from enemy forces. Through a masterfully done tracking shot (stitched together), Kabir Khan boldly underlines the protagonist's heroism through the bloody chaos before his downfall. It is an intense and stunning scene that shook me up, but it's not just the execution that raises the scene here. While adeptly done, another reason for this scene to stand out is that most of the sequences that came before and after felt average or slightly above average at best.

The issue with most Indian biopics is that the makers expect the inspirational content of their muse's life to make you fall in love with the film, instead of creating a strong framework around the story to enhance the subject. Chandu Champion, despite Kabir Khan's overtly pleasing treatment, falls into the same trap. The clearly formulaic approach does the film no favours, and more so, it makes some parts of the movie too familiar and some parts too tedious. For example, Murlikant's meteoric rise during the Japan games and then his steep fall after being distracted by a girl feel reminiscent of a similar subplot in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Just like in Chak De India and Maidaan, even Murli is first denied permission to participate in the Paralympics due to a lack of funds, only for the administrators to agree after an impassioned speech. Chandu Champion Screening: Vidya Balan, Tiger Shroff, Ananya Panday and More Celebs Arrive in Style at Kartik Aaryan’s Film’s Premiere.

Chandu Champion Movie Review - The Forrest Gump-ing

I don't know how true these events are, and I want to give the makers some trust in these matters. But the manner in which these scenes are treated creates an unsinkable feeling of déjà vu and does little justice to what is a truly incredible life story. I'm also not a fan of the movie trying to 'Forrest Gump' Murali by placing him in situations where he shouldn't be - like showing him present when the Black September terrorists gunned down two members of the Israeli Olympic team and kidnapped nine others during the 1972 Olympics in Munich. This incident happened on September 5, and the film claims the Paralympics were shifted to another date and venue when, in reality, the Paralympics had ended on August 11. Why distort history when it adds little or no substance to the story apart from extending the runtime?

Chandu Champion's frequent comic interludes, particularly involving Talpade and Rajpal Yadav's characters, test your patience and kill the pacing. One good emotional scene is often followed by an unnecessary light-hearted scene, which mars the high points of the protagonist's journey. Kabir Khan, however, did a decent job convincingly setting the film in the '60s and '70s. But the spark I saw and enjoyed when he previously made a sports biopic in 83 (that disappointingly underperformed at the box office) is missing here. 83 Movie Review: Ranveer Singh, Kabir Khan and Co Serve a Crowd-Pleasing, Winning Tribute to the 1983 World Cup Heroes.

Chandu Champion Movie Review - The Performances

Regarding performances, Kartik Aaryan's portrayal is sincere in most parts, but it remains a very 'Kartik Aaryan' performance. At no point did I feel the actor lost himself in the character, and we see Muralikant Petkar on screen. Kartik is good in a couple of emotional scenes, but otherwise, it is not a performance to crow about.

It also doesn't help that he doesn't look much like the real person. The film inadvertently points this out by trying to recreate Petkar's Padma Shri-winning moment with Kartik and then juxtaposing it with real footage. The comparison felt laughable because the actor looks nothing like the real Petkar, especially with that fake wig and moustache. The funny part is the younger Petkar had a moustache in his pictures, and Kartik is shown without one at that age.

Apart from Bhagyashri Borse, who has a brief role as a journalist in Tokyo who Muralikant is attracted to, the film doesn't have any female lead (Sonali Kulkarni appears in a small role later on). The hero is shown having a son, but the wife is absent. Among the supporting cast, Vijay Raaz impresses the most as the no-nonsense coach who can't place names, followed by the talented Bhuvan Arora, who is likeable as the Bubba to Kartik's Gump.

Chandu Champion Movie Review - Final Thoughts

Chandu Champion is a glowing example of how good intentions don't always lead to a good film. While Kabir Khan's film aims to celebrate the inspirational life of Muralikant Petkar, the narrative's formulaic approach and uneven pacing hinder its impact. Kartik Aaryan's performance, though sincere, does not fully capture the essence of the real-life hero, and the frequent comic interludes disrupt the film's emotional flow.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 14, 2024 02:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).