Two years after Chandu Champion arrived in theatres, the film continues to be remembered not only for bringing the inspiring story of India’s first Paralympic Gold Medalist Murlikant Petkar to the screen, but also for the extraordinary preparation, Kartik Aaryan went through into making it believable.
While audiences witnessed the transformation on screen, the real story unfolded over months of relentless training, sacrifice, and discipline. The result was a performance that became brilliant achievement in Kartik Aaryan’s career and eventually earned him his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor.
Few individuals witnessed that transformation as closely as fitness trainer Tridev Pandey. Looking back on Kartik’s dedication to the role, Pandey recalled, “In my 17 years of experience, I have not seen someone like him.”
For more than a year, Kartik’s life revolved around a strict routine of training, recovery, and nutrition. There were no shortcuts and no exceptions.
One incident, in particular, stayed with Pandey. “Kartik’s birthday was in November and his friends got him healthy cakes. He cut the cake but didn’t eat even a single piece,” he revealed, highlighting the level of focus the actor maintained throughout the process.
The challenge extended far beyond achieving a lean physique. To convincingly portray an athlete, Kartik had to develop skills and physical abilities from the ground up. Boxing sessions, swimming drills, endurance work, and functional strength training became part of his everyday life. According to Pandey, “He wasn’t very good with skipping but he has now picked up 14-15 styles of skipping,” while also revealing, “From not being able to do a single push-up to now doing push-ups after putting 50-60 kilo plates on his back, Kartik really pushed himself a lot.”
Over the course of the preparation, the actor reportedly lost nearly 18 kilograms and significantly reduced his body-fat percentage, marking one of the most talked-about physical transformations in recent Bollywood history. What makes the Chandu Champion journey stand out even today is that the transformation was never an end in itself—it was a means to honour a remarkable real-life story.
Summing up the scale of the effort, Pandey said, “It took us 14 months to do the job and I made him learn the sport from scratch.”
Two years later, the film remains a reminder that behind every convincing performance lies months of unseen work. In Kartik Aaryan’s case, that work transformed more than his appearance—it reshaped him into an athlete, helping bring one of India’s greatest sporting stories to life.
