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Post the success of Satyaprem Ki Katha, Kartik Aaryan will now be seen in Sajid Nadiadwala and Kabir Khan’s Chandu Champion – a biopic based on the life of India’s first Paralympic gold medalist Murlikant Petkar. The war hero got disabled during the 1965 war against Pakistan sustaining bullet wounds. Before the war, Petkar was a boxer, but after his injury, he moved to swimming, and won the Olympic Gold during the 1972 Heidelberg Paralympics for freestyle swimming. Now, not many are aware that to train Kartik for his role in the film, director Kabir Khan had roped in swimmer Virdhawal Khade, an Arjuna Award winner and Gold Medalist at the Asian Games.
Now the swimming champion, in an exclusive chat with ETimes has opened up about how he got attached with the film. He said, “So it was Kabir Sir’s team that got in touch with me, they wanted me to have a look at Kartik, and give them an idea of what needs to be done and how much time it will take, this was about mid 2022. Once I had a look at him and saw him swim, I realised that if left to himself, he wouldn’t drown at least. That was our starting point – the end product you will see in the movie.”
Virdhawal is a national record holder for 50 meter swimming, and has worked really hard on his body. Sharing an anecdote from the shooting schedule in London, when he was not only coaching Kartik, but also preparing for the Asian Games, he said, “During the lunch breaks and after the shoots, I would get in and do my workouts, and I remember Kartik having a look at my body, and getting motivated to work in that direction.”
He also added that most athletes are jealous of swimmers, as they can eat whatever they want and still not put on weight. Chandu Champion is slated to release on 14th June.
Now the swimming champion, in an exclusive chat with ETimes has opened up about how he got attached with the film. He said, “So it was Kabir Sir’s team that got in touch with me, they wanted me to have a look at Kartik, and give them an idea of what needs to be done and how much time it will take, this was about mid 2022. Once I had a look at him and saw him swim, I realised that if left to himself, he wouldn’t drown at least. That was our starting point – the end product you will see in the movie.”
Virdhawal is a national record holder for 50 meter swimming, and has worked really hard on his body. Sharing an anecdote from the shooting schedule in London, when he was not only coaching Kartik, but also preparing for the Asian Games, he said, “During the lunch breaks and after the shoots, I would get in and do my workouts, and I remember Kartik having a look at my body, and getting motivated to work in that direction.”
He also added that most athletes are jealous of swimmers, as they can eat whatever they want and still not put on weight. Chandu Champion is slated to release on 14th June.