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One man, many sports
Updated On: 22 June, 2024 06:58 AM IST | Mumbai | Priyanka Sharma
Unfazed by Chandu Champion’s slow start at the BO, writer says Petkar’s spirit and expertise in different games make film stand out from other sports biopics
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Chandu Champion
When director Kabir Khan shared Murlikant Petkar’s life story with writer Sumit Arora, he was gobsmacked. He wondered, ‘All this happened to one person!’ From this place of marvel was born Chandu Champion. The Kartik Aaryan-led biopic traces how Petkar, a rookie wrestler, joined the Indian Army, where he became a boxer. After the 1965 India-Pakistan war left him paralysed waist-down, he learnt swimming and went on to win India’s first Paralaympic gold medal in 1972. The biopic’s writing process entailed long Zoom calls with the man himself.
Arora recalls, “Kabir had already met him before we started writing. On Zoom calls, [we realised] that all the things that were fascinating for us were routine to him. He would tell us matter-of-factly, ‘I woke up from a two-year coma and then learnt swimming.’ From his childhood, he was clear about his dream of winning an Olympic gold medal. That dream never left him. That was our take-away from the meeting.”
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