As ‘Chandu Champion’ completes two years since its release, Kartik Aarya He punctuated the note as he looked back on the film and reflected on the transformative experience of portraying Paralympic gold medalist Murlikant Petkar. The actor looked at the physical and emotional journey behind the film, calling it the most special project of his career.Kartik shared how the role changed him beyond the visible physical transformation and helped him reconnect with the values he deeply believes in.He wrote on his Instagram: “Two years ago, I stepped into the shoes of a man forgotten by the world, and he finally reminded me of everything I believed in. I’m not sure I’ve quite put it into words yet, but I’ll try. This film is not just about a man who refused to give up, it’s about scars that become medals, it’s also about setbacks that become comebacks.’The actress revealed that while she shed 18 pounds for the role, the personal lessons she learned were much more meaningful. “The 18 kilos I lost was nothing compared to everything I gained. #ChanduChampion is the most special film of my life. To play Murlikant Petkar, I had to become someone I had never been. Every morning, every drop of sweat, every moment of self-doubt on set – it wasn’t acting. It was living.“Kartik’s dramatic physical transformation became one of the most talked about aspects of the film. In an interview with ETimes, her trainer Tridev Pandey revealed that the actor’s fitness regime was designed to mirror the training schedule of a professional boxer preparing for competition. The actress is a vegetarian, she only eats eggs. His trainer had earlier shared with us, “Kartik is a vegetarian and there were many people who suggested that he should start eating non-vegetarian food, but he only took my advice. Being a vegetarian, I knew how to get a body without eating non-vegetarian, and he really appreciates my physique. So, ‘aise body ban?’ he just asked me jayegi na? and I said yes.”The transformation required months of discipline and intense training. Kartik reduced his weight from 90 kg to 72 kg without the help of performance enhancing substances. When he started training, he reportedly struggled to do a single push-up. At the end of the process, he was able to do push-ups with an additional 50-60 kg of weight on his back.His progress extended to other areas as well. From finding basic jumping routines difficult, Kartik eventually mastered 14 to 15 advanced variations in preparation for the role. Meanwhile, in an exclusive chat with ETimes at the film’s premiere, Kartik spoke about his transformation and said, “Both (emotionally and physically getting into the part) were difficult and interrelated. Building this body was a very patient job and it took a very long time. I never imagined a film like this, I didn’t try that genre for myself, and I never tried. 200 percent – be psyche or physical in every possible way. We did many workshops, reading sessions. We did a lot of workshops with a dialect expert to get the Marathi language and not overdo it. There’s always a fine line between sounding right and overdoing it. It has been quite some time since we started preparing this film. All said and done, I’m very proud of this film.”
