Chandu Champion

Another sports epic about an athlete overcoming odds to be a champion.  "Chandu Champion" (2024) does have a surprise ending, that unless you are from India (and even for most Indians) you are unlikely to guess.  The word "chandu" stands for loser and is a slur the  protagonist is desperate to avoid.

Near the beginning we see an old man badgering some government officials about a missing award.   It is a little confusing, but soon we are learning the background which starts with Murlikant Petkar as a young boy who takes it in his head that he wants to be an Olympic champion.

He is advised to take up wrestling and in fact makes a lot of progress until he offends his townspeople and flees.  Next he was advised to join the army where he was led to believe he would get serious wrestling training, but soon learns the military does not offer wrestling.  With his dream of an Olympic medal still driving him he takes up boxing with Tiger Ali who at first is very dismissive of him, but later becomes his strongest advocate.  The story takes quite a twist from this point.  The point of the interview at the beginning is that the story was buried in technological changes and bureaucratic ineptness.  The last part of the movie uncovers what happened.  In the end credits we see the real Murlikant Petkar who does deserve recognition. 

This movie is a big budget film with a lot of top notch cast and crew.  Here are some of them:

Kabir Khan was director, writer and producer.  He got a break as a cinematographer for a documentary and quickly became a director and producer.  His films include  "New York" (2009),  "Ek Tha Tiger" (2012), "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" (2015) and "'83" (2021).

Sumit Arora was another writer.  He has 15 credits as a writer, 3 as a director and 2 for additional crew including "Stree" (2018), "The Family Man" (2019), "'83" (2021) and "Jawan" (2023).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/03/the-family-man.html

Pritam Chakraborty composed much of the music.   He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India with a degree in Sound Engineering.   He has played in a variety of bands.  Pritam has 153 composing credits, 20 for the music department and 1 for sound including "Jab We Met" (2007), "Life in a Metro" (2007), "Rajneeti" 210), "Yeh Jawaani Dewani" (2013), "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" (2015), "Dangal" (2018) and "Chhichhore" (2019).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/03/chhichhore-is-for-losers-ie-most-of-us.html 

Sudeep Chatterjee was responsble for cinematography.  He has 32 cinematography credits including "Iqbal" (2005), "Chak de India" (2007), "Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl" (2011), "Bajirao Mastani" (2015), "Kaabil" (2017), "Padmaavat" (2018) and "Gangubai Kathiawadi" (2022).

Nitin Baid was the editor.  He has 38 credits for editor and 11 for the editorial department including "Masaan" (2015), "Raazi" (2016) and "Gully Boy" (2019).  A quote:  "It is an editor's job to make poor acting look good on screen".

Kartik Aaryan played  Murlikant Petkar.  His parents, both doctors wanted him to become an engineer for which he finally completed the studies after an interruption following an early film. that he lied to his paents about.  He has 21 film credits including "Pyaar Ka Punchnama" (2011), "Pyaar Ka Punchanma 2" (2015), "Sonu Ki Tatu Ki Sweety" (2018). "Dhamaka" (2018) and "Freddy" (2022).  When he was filming "Shehzade" (2023) there was a serious financial crisis and he returned his pay and was credited as a producer.  Check:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/11/dhamaka-is-this-what-tv-is-coming-to.html

Vijay Raaz plays Tiger Ali who is a boxing coach and later an advocate for Murlikant.  He has 142 acting credits including "Bhopal Express" (1999), "Monsoon Wedding" (2000), "Kya Dilli Kya Lahore" 2014), "Sanam Teri Kasam" (2016), "Made in Heaven" (2019-2023), "Gully Boy" (2019) and"Gangubai Kathiawadi" (2023).

Bhuvan Arora plays Karnail Singh, a close friend.  He has 21 credits including "Chaman Bahaar" (2020) and "Farzi" (2023).   See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/03/farzi-or-fakes.html

Rajpal Naurang Yadav (previously Rajpal Yadav) plays Topaz. He has  198 acting credits including "Kal Ho Naa Ho" (2003), "Paheli" (2005), "Main, Meri Patni...Aur Woh" (2006), "Khatta Meetha" (2010) and  "Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2" (2022).

Shreyas Talpade plays Inspector Kamble who questons an older Marlikant which is how we learn the life story.  He has 84 acting credits including "Iqbal" (2003), ""Dor" (2006), "Om Shanti Om' (2007), "Bombay to Bangkok" (2008), "Aashayein" (2010) and "Prawaas" (2020).

Sonali Kulkarni plays a reporter.  She was involved in theatre, not only acting, but producing.  She has 97 acting credits.  including "Dil Chahta Hai" (2001), "Bride and Prejudice" (2005), "Mohandas" (2009) and "Gulabo Sitabo" (2020).

 Another sports epic film came out the same year, "Maidaan" (2024) which shares the general theme of overcoming obstacles, but is more nuanced.  Check it out:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/06/maidaan.html

"Chandu Champion" will appeal to those who love competitive sports and is available subtitled on Prime.

As usual I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen.  They are not necessarily a recommendation, but generally I found them worthy of my time.  If you follow the links you should be able to determine if a particular film is worth following up.