'Chandu Champion' movie review: Could do with a champi

Movie Chandu ChampionCast Kartik Aaryan Vijay RaazDirector Kabir KhanRating 155Chandu Champion is a brilliantly lit mounted film shot by Sudeep Chatterjee from the Sanjay Leela Bhansali stable but also cinematographer of Chak De India If thatrsquos the first if not the only thing you notice about this picture then already therersquos an issueThat is if yoursquore gawking in awe at the opponent boxermdashfalling in slowmotion inside the ringmdashor the transition shot with the face of the young hero past morphing into the old hero present Or indeed the silhouette of people atop a train framed like a Warli paintingSometimes a movie can be so laden with advertising visuals that after a point you stop caring for what itrsquos about Because it isnrsquot about much frankly Except that the writers have discovered the story of a sportsperson who picked up international prizes in boxing later in swimming at the ParalympicsThis story was apparently also lost to the world Until it came to light and the said hero was awarded a Padma Shri by the government The filmmakers are convinced we know nothing about one Murlikant Petkar Theyrsquore rightAnd so they humourlessly monotonously set out to string together a series of events from the life and times of the said heroHaving sat through so many such simplistic secondrate sedative storytelling especially to do with sport from Mary Kom to MaidaanmdashIrsquom now of the firm albeit unfair opinion that the lsquojeevanirsquobiography is not even artUnless you can bring to the biopic besides brevity core conflicts and deep drama outside of basic circumstancesmdashoften even unconcerned with the actual events in a personrsquos life and thatrsquos fine How does one achieve that Through a wider backdrop And multiple characters perhapsThere is literally one in Chandu Champion of course Everyone surrounding him are there to serve his sporting feat No knock on thatBut what good is a scriptmdashfrom the hero stepping on to a train from rural Maharashtra to just getting into the militarymdashif its synopsis here will serve the same purpose as the film itselfObviously Irsquom not gonna summarise the movie for you Yoursquoll have to watch it to know But you know what I mean Contrast this with a similar storybiopic like say Paan Singh Tomar 2012 You felt transported into another world thereI didnrsquot even get to sense the rsquo60s here which is when Chandu Champion is set Several scripts that Kabir Khan has directed beforemdashNew York 83 Bajrangi Bhaijaan even Tubelightmdashhavenrsquot suffered from the same defectOf course a lot of Paan Singh had to do with its lead actor Irrfan himself Agree such talents are rarest of the rare Yet if box office numbers are an indication the star here Kartik Aaryan has more paying public as fans than Irrfan didQuite a few Insta reels out there of Kartikrsquos fan army named Fanception for you to figure this out Which explains the heavy budgeting of this biopicThe centrepiece of which is the stunning physical transformation of Kartik into a zerofat sixpack giant in the boxing ring and swimming poolItrsquos the type of physique that I suspect Murlikant Petkar on whom the movie is based wouldnrsquot have perhaps bothered blessing himself withBe that as it may canrsquot help but admire the sorta time and dedication the lead actor has devoted to this picture You wanna applaud this kinda effort And you do But all of this in the service of whatIf yoursquore admiring the shot of Kartikrsquos smiling face dipping in and out of water in the pool as he aces a competitive roundmdashbut you feel nothing at all therersquos an issue noThis was my experience with this pic throughout Got a headache after a point Could do with a champi after Chandu Champion

'Chandu Champion' movie review: Could do with a champi

Movie: Chandu Champion
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Vijay Raaz
Director: Kabir Khan
Rating: 1.5/5

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Home / Entertainment / Bollywood News / Article / 'Chandu Champion' movie review: Could do with a champi

'Chandu Champion' movie review: Could do with a champi

Movie: Chandu ChampionCast: Kartik Aaryan, Vijay RaazDirector: Kabir KhanRating: 1.5/5

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Movie: Chandu Champion
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Vijay Raaz
Director: Kabir Khan
Rating: 1.5/5