Chandu Champion & Kartik Stand Tall In A League  Of Their Own

Rating: ****

Chandu Champion stands tall, and it  stands in a   league of its own.It is a  fluent, furiously passionate  look at the life of an extraordinary  achiever  who plunges  headlong into whatever takes his fancy and  then thinks about the consequences.

Murlikant  Petkar’ s stunning achievements are not so much in the public eye. If the truth be told, most of us never  heard of him  until this  film.It therefore comes as a surprise to see his breathtaking achievements being so  diligently recreated on screen.This is the way a bio-pic  should be: celebrating but not salivating over  a remarkable  life.

Kartik as Murli   comes into his own with a performance  that is redolent with  industriousness . While  Ranveer Singh as Kapil Dev in Kabir  Khan’s  83  attempted to impersonate the original,Kartik Aaryan doesn’t try to  walk, talk and behave like  Murlikant Petkar.

Also,lest we forget,  Ranveer  played a cricket celebrity who is  very much in our midst, constantly seen in the media’s eye , and  much loved by his fans. Kartik while playing an  unsung hero,brings  a cheerful tuneful vibe  to the character.I don’t know how likeable  Murlikant is in real life. But Kartik makes him eminently endearing on screen.

We  have seen an abundance of bio-pics in  recent  times  about sung and unsung  heroes,  about politicians, gangsters and  sportspersons.Chandu Champion  navigates through the underdog’s  climb to the top, negotiating  all the predictable tropes but ensuring that none of it feels over-familiar or remotely  jaded.

Kabir Khan who  channelized  Kapil Dev’s  energy  in 83,  gives  us no reason to compare  that film with Chandu Champion.  The  only  point of comparison is  that  both of Kabir Khan’s  films are  about real-life characters who  made a deep impact in their  spheres of activity.

I would say ’83  was a sports drama. Chandu Champion is  much more than  that.

As for comparing Ranveer Singh with Kartik Aaryan, they are two different  entities,  different individuals  with  a completely different approach to their character . It’s like comparing apples with pears.

 But if you insist, here is my verdict Kartik Aaryan in  his scene-chewing avatar  gives his character the kind of spin that we get to see only in  the best bio-pics featuring the finest actors in the moment.In his  game-changing performance, Kartik proves you don’t need  pedigree to prove yourself in  your chosen field.  You only need talent and balls.Murlikant Petker will agree.

Technically sound—and  a special nod to  cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee ,every frame looks beautiful in a lived-in kind of way—Chandu Champion is  among the  bio-pics this  country has produced.