A rundown of Kartik’s journey from Pyaar Ka Punchnama to Chandu Champion
Starting with Pyaar Ka Punchnama Kartik has done 17 movies so far. He started out with lighter roles that have shades of comedy and romance but with movies like Dhamaka, Freddy and the latest Chandu Champion Kartik has proved that he has got good range. He also tried his hand at an out and out commercial movie Shehzada, a remake of Telugu smash hit Ala Vaikuntapurramulo, though the movie ended up being a disaster because of the weak direction. However to Kartik’s credit he did make for a credible all-round hero.
In Pyaar Ka Punchnama Kartik played one of the frustrated boyfriends; there is a particular scene where Kartik vents outs his anger in a lengthy monologue about issues that men face in contemporary relationships. It struck a huge chord with young boys making Kartik an instant hit. The sequel of Pyaar Ka Punchnama had an even bigger monologue that Kartik aced. For a long period Pyaar Ka Punchnama image stayed with the actor but thankfully Kartik managed to come out of those shadows.
Singing Ami Je Tomar in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2
One of Kartik’s biggest strengths has been his charming nature and an endearing goofiness. A good example of this is Anees Bazmee’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022); in this movie he played the role of Ruhan Randhawa. In the process of helping a girl he pretends to be a fake Baba convincing people that he has the ability to communicate with the spirits of dead people.
Kartik generated a lot of humor with his dialogue delivery and expressions. He brought the house down on many occasions particularly when he pretends to be an expert Baba.
At the same time he was equally intense in the song Ami Je Tomar where he pretends to be possessed by the devil. Apart from his goofiness what also makes Kartik a success is his ability to experiment and work in genres that people don’t associate him with.
Kartik Aryan as the disgrunted man in Dhamaka
Much before Chandu Champion there was Ram Madhvani’s Dhamaka released in the year 2021. In Dhamaka Kartik played the role of a former prime time anchor Arjun Pathak now demoted to a radio jockey. On the personal front too his life isn’t going well. In short he is a disgruntled man. The character is far away from the usual boy next door roles and Kartik did a wonderful job in portraying the different shades.
In the year of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 there was also Shashanka Ghosh’s Freddy a dark psychological romantic thriller about an introvert dentist who craves for companionship. Often times Kartik’s character of Dr Freddy Ginwala is mocked for his social awkwardness. In the title role Kartik aced the many aspects starting from desperation to the eventual dark turn.
kartik-aaryan Freddy showing the simmering rage within the calmness
The best part of Kartik’s performance was how he showcased the simmering rage beneath the calmness. Even in terms of body language one can see the big variation. In spite of similarities to Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker Kartik made sure that his performance has its own individuality.
Now to the latest Chandu Champion directed by Kabir Khan. The role of Muralikanth Petkar, a Paralympics champion is a tough one to portray both emotionally and physically.
Kartik in this movie also appeared as an older man for the first time in his career. Before the movie there was lot of chatter about how he went from 39 percent body fat to just 7 percent.
Kartik-Aaryan in Chandu Champion
The physical transformation was definitely extraordinary getting the perfect look to portray an athlete. But more than the physical transformation what stood out was how Kartik showcased the despair of Muralikanth after getting paralyzed waist down. There is a deep sadness including a suicide attempt. Kartik made sure that the audience’s heart went out for Muralikanth, because of which audiences feel happy for Muralikanth when he creates a world record in the sport of swimming.
Kartik Aaryan Sattu (Satyaprem Ki Katha) from a simpleton to standing up for his wife
Talking about romantic dramas Kartik’s best performance in this genre is Satyaprem Ki Katha (2023). Directed by Sameer Vidwan Satyaprem Ki Katha was an impactful romantic drama focusing on the issue of date rape. Kartik’s Sattu starts off as a goofy guy but there is a solid emotional graph too as the movie takes a serious turn. The performance is particularly good in the high emotional moments. The evolution of Sattu from a simpleton to someone who stands for his wife was very well showcased by the actor.
This is a brief rundown of Kartik’s roles that showcase his versatility. Here’s hoping that this younger star goes from strength to strength and does many more versatile roles.
This Kabir Khan directorial begins off hazily but soon finds its grove. Kartik Aryan delivers a knockout performance putting his blood and soul. He doesn’t miss a single beat
Additional writers: Sumit Arora and Sudipto Sarkar
Producers: Sajid Nadiadwala and Kabir Khan
Music: Pritam
Production Companies: Naiadwala Grandson Entertainment and Kabir Khan Films
Cinematography: Sudeep Chatterjee
Running time: 2 hours and 30 minutes
Genre: Biographical drama
There was a period in Hindi cinema when the on-screen portrayal of disabled/ differently enabled people used to be all about the Bechara syndrome. They were often portrayed as objects of pity or to evoke comedy. But this depiction has undergone a significant change in the recent past. Case in point being Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black featuring Rani Mukherjee. In this movie Rani Mukherjee played a visually impaired girl Michelle based on Helen Keller’s life. Michelle is never reduced to a stock caricature, there is a strong determination to prove herself. In Guzaarish Hrithik Roshan played a popular magician Ethan who suffers paralysis and turns into a radio jockey. Although Guzaarish is a grim story that focuses on Euthanasia/ mercy killing yet it is also a tale of resilience. The scenes of Ethan as a Radio jockey and how he spreads hope through his wit are in particular were compelling.
This year you have had the biopic of the visually impaired businessman Srikant Bolla starring Rajkummar Rao. In this movie director Tushar Hiranandani made some scathing remarks on how some people think that the best way to help the blind is only through making them cross the road. Now you have Kabir Khan’s Chandu Champion based on an incredible true story of Muralikant Petkar. India’s first paralympic gold specialist.
The movie begins in the present with an older Muralikant Petkar (An outstanding Kartik Aryan). He is narrating his tale of glorious days to a bunch of cops. From his younger days itself Murali had a huge dream of winning an Olympic gold medal for India inspired by KD Jadhav an Olympic medalist. He openly says that his dream is to win an Olympic gold medal only to get ridiculed and bullied by his fellow classmates. At one point Murali also runs away from his village. He joins the Indian army and finds a strong ally in the form of Karnail Singh (Bhuvan Arora) who gives Murali hope that he can become the next Milkha. Vijay Raaz plays Tiger Ali. He is a coach cum father-like figure who trains Murali for the boxing championship. He reaches the finals but only ends up with a silver medal leading to a strained relationship with the coach. In the life altering 1965 Kashmir war Murali faces many wounds in the process of trying to save his colleagues. Murali ends up in a prolonged coma becoming paralyzed waist down. At one point he even tries to commit suicide by having excess pills, but destiny has other plans for him. The rest of the story is about how Petekar manages to overcome all the odds fulfilling his dream of winning gold along with why he is narrating his life story to a bunch of policemen.
There is no denying that Chandu Champion has a hazy start. The scenes of Murali in the military camp has a distinct hangover of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. The humor at places is also reminiscent of that however the movie finds its grip soon. The scenes of Murali preparing for the boxing championship and how he pummels down his opponents only to lose in the finals has been brilliantly written and enacted. The Pre interval block of the 1965 war and the life altering event sets a solid base for the second half.
The second half becomes even more engaging. The portions of Murali’s despair touches a strong emotional chord. As viewers you root for him to succeed in life. The return of Tiger Ali and the way he motivates Murali to dream big again is wonderful to watch. This time the sport is swimming with the aim of winning gold in the 1972 Summer Paralympics. But here again the path is far from easy as the sports committee is not too keen on funding a player for the Paralympics event. The way Murali overcomes all these challenges and sets a world record by clinching the gold medal in 37.33 seconds is exhilarating to watch.
An aspect of Chandu Champion that elevates the movie from just a template underdog drama is the message that it conveys regarding disability and differently abled people. There is a powerful monologue where Murali talks about how differently abled are not looking for sympathy. It critiques the Bechara syndrome and how sometimes even their best efforts are not given due recognition.
Chandu Champion is also technically strong. Sudeep Chatterjee’s cinematography coupled with Juluis Packam’s background score elevates the movie’s emotional core further. The cinematography of the boxing and the paralympic sequences in particular deserve a special mention.
Pritam’s music is not of the blockbuster type but the songs Tu Hai Champion and Sarphira make a strong impact.
Coming to the man of the moment Kartik delivers a career defining performance. His physical transformation is of course beyond commendable but beyond the physicality the actor also shines bright in the scenes of showing helplessness, frustration, resilience and grit. He more than holds his own opposite the veteran Vijay Raaz. The hunger to be taken seriously as an actor is very much visible. Even as an older man he is pretty good.
Vijay Raaz as the coach has an interesting arc and is not just used for comic relief. He brings in a lot of emotional depth. His emotional moments with Kartik Aryan give the movie some of its best moments. Bhuvan Arora also makes a strong impact in his limited screen time. The camaraderie between him and Kartik is very much on point.
Shreyas Talpade as the funny cop and Sonali Kulkarni as a journalist could have been used better though.
Chandu Champion is an inspiring story that needs to be watched on the big screen. Muralikant Petkar, Kabir Khan and Kartik Aryan take a bow.
One of the major characteristics of Yash Raj Films (YRF) is how it nurtures talent and gives several chances to directors and artistes in spite of their initial failures.
For example, Kabir Khan’s directorial debut Kabul Express (2006) wasn’t a commercial success but the director still got an opportunity to direct two more major Yash Raj Films — New York (2009) and Ek Tha Tiger (2012).
Both did well at the box office, especially Ek Tha Tiger, which laid the foundation for the flourishing spy universe.
Here’s the list of Bollywood celebrities who won multiple opportunities from the YRF chief Aditya Chopra despite their failures:
Maneesh Sharma
Maneesh Sharma has directed five films — all for YRF.
The first is the romantic comedy Band Baaja Baaraat (2010) starring Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma. The movie had low expectations, but Maneesh and Ranveer surprised the audiences.
A poster of the film ‘Tiger 3’. (X)
Maneesh’s second film too was a Ranveer-starrer: Ladies vs Ricky Bahl (2011). Though it didn’t replicate the success of his debut, the Bollywood movie didn’t break Aditya Chopra’s trust in the director.
A third film, Shuddh Desi Romance (2013), was offered to him again. It was an engaging romantic comedy dealing with how the younger generation looked at marriage commitment in small-town India. The movie also dwelt on live-in relationships.
Its success led to Maneesh Sharma getting his fourth opportunity with the YRF — to direct Shah Rukh Khan in a double role. As the title Fan (2016) suggested, the film was about an obsessive fan who gets heartbroken with his idol.
Maneesh Sharma did a decent job in the first half, but the young director lost his grip in the second half, and everything went topsy-turvy.
In spite of the failure of Fan, Maneesh got yet another opportunity to direct a large-scale action film — Tiger 3 (2023).
Maneesh Sharma aimed to make a geo-political film with a lot of action. However, his inability to handle big scale once again came to the fore.
The hand-to-hand combats, Emraan Hashmi’s characterisation, and Shah Rukh’s extended cameo were all brilliant in Tiger 3. But the film never rose above the sum of its parts.
There is no denying that Tiger 3 is doing good business, but having said that, it is also a setback for the spy universe, particularly in comparison to the previous two films War (2019) and Pathaan (2023).
Vijay Krishna Acharya
Vijay Krishna Acharya made his directorial debut with the action drama Tashan (2008). The film had a galaxy of stars — Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar, and Anil Kapoor.
It was an old-fashioned revenge drama in Hollywood style. True to the title, the film had plenty of style, particularly the characterisation of Akshay Kumar’s Bachchan Pandey.
A still from the film ‘Thugs of Hindostan’. (X)
But, just gloss can never substitute for a gripping story. And, that was what happened with Tashan too.
Kareena definitely found her soul mate in Saif Ali Khan and vice-versa, but for Aditya Chopra, the movie was a big loss.
However, Tashan‘s failure did not stop the producer from trusting Vijay Krishna Acharya again with the third instalment of the Dhoom franchise.
Vijay Krishna Acharya was only a story writer for the first two Dhoom films (2004, 2006) but for Dhoom 3 (2013), he was both writer and director.
Dhoom 3 did bring in profits for its producers, but at the same time, it was a step back as it paled in comparison to the fun and thrills provided by Dhoom 2.
Only Aamir Khan’s star power coupled with a more engaging second half made Dhoom 3 a hit at the box office.
Aditya Chopra was even more generous when he allowed Vijay Krishna Acharya to direct Bollywood “Shahenshah” Amitabh Bachchan and Mr Perfectionist Aamir Khan together in Thugs of Hindostan (2018).
Unfortunately, for the fans and the production house, the experience was far from memorable. The film brought huge losses to everyone concerned.
Vijay Krishna Acharya’s last directorial is a religious comedy/drama titled The Great Indian Family (2023) also produced by YRF.
Despite being a much better product than Thugs of Hindostan, The Great Indian Family didn’t do much at the box office. Now, we have to wait and see if Aditya Chopra will give him another chance.
Shaad Ali
Shaad Ali was an assistant director to Mani Ratnam for Dil Se (1998).
Later on, he helmed seven films as a director. Of these seven projects, four were produced by YRF.
A poster of the film ‘Kill Dil’. (X)
The first is the romantic comedy/drama Saathiya (2002), a remake of Mani Ratnam’s Tamil blockbuster hit Alaipayuthey (2000). Saathiya was a moderate success and was well-received by the critics.
Before Saathiya, Rani Mukherjee had only seen limited success. With the film, her career saw a resurgence. For Vivek Oberoi, it was the third success of that year.
Shaad Ali’s second outing, Bunty Aur Babli (2005), also did well at the box office.
It gave Abhishek Bachchan a much-needed hit as the leading man. His sizzling chemistry with Rani Mukherjee also helped the movie become a blockbuster.
Later, Shaad Ali faced massive roadblocks in the form of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007) and Kill Dil (2014).
Jhoom BarabarJhoom was an expensive musical that brought no profits. It had a hit soundtrack composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy. But good music and glossy cinematography couldn’t compensate for the lacklustre direction.
Shaad Ali was clearly not comfortable dealing with a story of this scale.
Despite Jhoom Barabar Jhoom‘s failure, the director helmed another YRF film — Ranveer Singh’s Kill Dil (2014). It was an action comedy film about two assassins raised by a local gangster. Here too, there was ample style but little substance.
Shaad Ali’s journey with YRF has come to a stop for now.
Siddarth P Malhotra
Siddarth P Malhotra’s debut directorial was We Are Family (2010). It is an official adaption of Stepmom (English, 1998).
Rani Mukherjee in ‘Hichki’.(X)
The film was produced by Karan Johar and had the likes of Kajol and Kareena Kapoor.
It had all the elements required to be a solid emotional drama, but Siddarth P Malhotra couldn’t do complete justice to it.
Despite We Are Family’s failure, the young director got an opportunity to helm a YRF film starring Aditya Chopra’s life partner, Rani Mukherjee.
Hichki (2018) was about a teacher with a passion for teaching in spite of suffering from Tourette syndrome and the impact she has on students of class 9F.
These students come from a nearby slum and are not interested in studies. Rani Mukherjee, as Naina Mathur, transforms their lives with patience and perseverance. Hichki was a classic underdog story that resonated well with the audience.
Siddarth P Malhotra showed that Aditya Chopra’s trust in him wasn’t misplaced.
Karan Malhotra
Just like Siddarth P Malhotra, Karan Malhotra, too, started his career with Dharma Productions.
He directed the action drama Agneepath (2012), a remake of the 1990 film of the same name.
A poster of the film ‘Shamshera’. (X)
While the original film had Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role, the remake had Hrithik Roshan and two terrifying villains, Rishi Kapoor’s Rauf Lala and Sanjay Dutt’s Kancha Cheena
Agneepath was a well-made masala film that registered good numbers at the box office.
Later, Karan Malhotra directed Brothers (2015), also a remake. However, the source material this time was an English film titled Warrior (2011). He tried to replicate the success of Agneepath with the same treatment, but this time, the results were far from satisfying.
The failure of Brothers led to Karan Malhotra stepping out of Dharma Productions.
After a gap of seven years, Karan Malhotra directed Shamshera (2022) produced by Aditya Chopra.
The film was a period-action drama about an oppressed tribe with a double dose of Ranbir Kapoor. Ranbir gave it his all, but the movie ended up being a poor clone of the Baahubali (2015 and 2017) films.
Unlike the other Malhotra, this Malhotra couldn’t live up to the expectations of the YRF Chairman.
Pradeep Sarkar
Late Pradeep Sarkar directed five films. Of them, three were produced by YRF.
These include Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (2007), Lafangey Parindey (2010) and Mardaani (2014). Among these, only Mardaani did good business.
Not many would have trusted the Parineeta (2005) director with a subject like Mardaani, but the late Pradeep Sarkar ensured that Aditya Chopra’s trust in him was not misplaced.
Mardaani is a significant film in the career of Rani Mukherjee.
Rani Mukherjee in ‘Mardaani’. (X)
Vani Kapoor
Vani Kapoor has acted in seven films so far. Out of seven, five were produced by YRF.
The Bollywood diva started her career promisingly with Shuddh Desi Romance. But her next outing, Aaha Kalyanam (2014), a Tamil-telugu remake of Band Baaja Baaraat produced by YRF (the only South film bankrolled by YRF) was a dud.
Despite Aaha Kalyanam’s failure, Vani Kapoor was paired opposite Ranveer Singh in Befikre (2016). Unfortunately, neither the film nor Vani could create any impact.
Still, she was cast in another YRF film – War (2019). But there wasn’t much heavy lifting for her, as the focus was primarily on Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff.
The actress was last seen in another YRF dud Shamshera (2022).
Vani Kapoor will next be seen in the web show Mandala Murders, co-produced by Aditya Chopra.
Here’s hoping that the actress will finally be able to repay the trust of her mentor.
Manushi Chillar
Manushi Chhillar has acted in two movies so far. Both were bankrolled by Aditya Chopra.
In spite of the failure of Samrat Prithviraj (2022), YRF gave her another chance in The Great Indian Family, which again was a failure.
The actress is a good looker, but she hasn’t proved her acting credentials until now!
She will be next seen in Operation Valentine alongside Varun Tej. The Telugu actor is making his debut in Bollywood with this Telugu-Hindi bilingual. It is hitting the screens on 8 December.
Directed by Kabir Khan, starring Ranveer Singh as Kapil Dev, it is bound to be talked about for a long long time. Other prominent cast includes Saqib Saleem as Mohinder Amarnath, Tahir Raj Bhasin as Sunil Gavaskar, Jatin Sarna as the late Yashapal Sharma, Tamil actor Jiva as Krishnamachari Srikanth and Pankaj Tripati as tour manger Man Singh among others. There is also Deepika Padukone who shows up as Kapil Dev’s wife Romi. The victory of 83 was not just about winning the world cup, it wasmuch more than that. It was about respect and being taken seriously by the cricketing world. There is a dialogue in the film where Pankaj Tripati’s character says that India has won freedom but is still far from gaining respect. 83 world cup win did exactly that. Except for Kapil Dev no one thought that India would go the distance that it did. There were constant humiliations and many obstacles but one man’s desire transformed the entire team.
Not an easy film to make
It is not an easy film to make as a director for two reasons. One, you should be able to transport the audiences back to that era and two, you need to make sure that today’s generation connects with the journey of the then cricket team. Kabir Khan more than lives up to the expectations, he makes a rousing drama with the right dose of lightness and also some moving emotional scenes. The biggest success of Kabir Khan lies in the fact that he never reduces it to a one man show. Yes, Ranveer Singh is the heart of the film but all the cast members have their moments at different junctures of the film. A good example of that is the scene featuring Jiva. He delivers a moving monologue where he praises his captain in front of a British journalist much to the surprise of Kapil himself. It is something that you don’t see coming. Like this there are many scenes at different points in the film. Much like Bajirangi Bhaijaan here also Kabir Khan explores the idea of love triumphing over hate. Here the medium is cricket. This can be seen in the scene where all villagers along with police watch the final match together in an atmosphere of communal tension.
Recreation of action-packed event
The story of 83 is basically a recreation of what transpired between 1st march and June 25th. Director Kabir Khan along with writers Sumit Arora and Vasan Bala take us through the highs and the lows of this incredible real life story. We see India starting off with a bang as they beat West Indies and Zimbabwe but they start faltering in the next couple of games. A point comes where they are completely down and out. At this stage you have the famous innings of Kapil Dev. His score of 175 gave a huge boost to the team, it gave them the self-confidence that they can go far in the world cup. From that point a new Indian cricket team emerges.
Aseem Mishra, one of the strong points
One of the big strengths of 83 is the cinematography of Aseem Mishra. Through his camera lens Aseem Mishra successfully captures the tension of the matches. His cinematography particularly shines in the scenes involving the aggressive bowling of West Indies. The slow motion camera shots are wonderfully done.
Another striking aspect of 83 is the way Kabir Khan maintains the tempo of the film. He makes sure that you are constantly involved till the last minute. As viewers we know that India has won the 83 world cup but that doesn’t stop you from cheering out loud when that moment comes. A major reason for that is Kabir Khan’s direction.
Emotional moments
83 has plenty of moments that are both humorous and also highly emotional. There are lot of fun moments involving the characters of Yashpal Sharma, Krishnamachari Srikanth, Balwinder Sandhu and Man Singh. At the same time the emotional scenes also pack a solid punch. Apart from Jiva’s monologue my other favorite emotional scene is the one involving real Lala Amarnath and his on screen son Mohinder Amarnath. There is a telephonic conversation where Lala Amarnath says to his on screen son that he has made him younger by ten years. What follows will create a lump in your throat. Additionally there is also the footage of the real life players which is smartly used by Kabir Khan.
The music by Pritam is more functional but it still works in the context of the film. The song Lehra Do in particular gives goosebumps.
Cast made the difference
The cast put together by Kabir Khan takes the film to another level. Over the years, Ranveer has shown that he can transform into any character. With his performance as Kapil Dev he shows that he has reached another level. He manages to capture the attitude of Kapil Dev perfectly along with the physical aspect. There is a scene in the press conference where Kapil Dev says that we are here to win, the way Ranveer says it is a perfect example of how he has imbibed the spirit of Kapil Dev. His acting in the emotional scenes also deserves full marks. In short, he deserves all the best actor awards for next year. Pankaj Tripati is also hugely impressive in his role of Man Singh. He and Ranveer share some of the best moments in the film. Among the rest my favorites are Saqib Saleem, Jiva, Jatin Sarna and Tahir Raj Bhasin.
Deepika Padukone has a small role but she is efficient in what she does. It is also a case of clever casting as you already have a shared camaraderie off screen.
In the final tally 83 is a roll coaster of emotions. Yes, it is manipulative but you don’t complain as Kabir Khan gives you plenty of moments to savor. It is the perfect big ticket entertainer to end the year.
