Kabir Khan opens up on why he cast Kartik Aaryan as 'Chandu Champion'

NEW DELHI: Filmmaker Kabir Khan, who is all set for the release of his upcoming biographical sports drama 'Chandu Champion', recalled the meeting he had with Kartik Aaryan, sharing how his gut instinct was very strong about the actor becoming the lead character.

Talking to IANS, Kabir, who is known for his directorial work on '83' and 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan', spoke about choosing Kartik as 'Chandu Champion'.

The movie is based on India's first Paralympic gold medalist, Murlikant Petkar.

Kabir told IANS: "When I was writing the script of 'Chandu'... obviously, when you are writing the script, you have an image in your mind. And that image, that character, has an age, personality, attitude... So, when you have these pointers, the next step is to identify which actor can embody all these characteristics. Very strongly, I felt those characteristics in Kartik Aaryan."

"We have never worked before, not even met properly. Then we had a meeting for around 2.5 hours, during which we had a lot of conversations about the film. As a director, during our talks, it's my job to gauge whether he is the right fit for this character. A director's gut instinct is very strong. After that 2.5-hour meeting with him, I was very clear that Kartik would be the 'Chandu Champion'," shared Kabir.

The director of 'Ek Tha Tiger' further shared that he had two queries, which Kartik answered instantly.

"I only had two questions, which Kartik answered without batting an eye on it -- firstly, about getting a haircut, and secondly, about a very tough body transformation because he (Petkar) is a top athlete of international level. Kartik had no hesitations with both questions. I knew he would go the extra mile to do it," concluded Kabir Khan.

'Chandu Champion' is jointly produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and Kabir Khan.

The film will be released in theatres on June 14.