Despite an underwhelming opening weekend, Kabir Khan’s biographical sports drama Chandu Champion appears to be winning over audiences thanks to strong word-of-mouth. The film stars Kartik Aaryan as India’s first Paralympic gold medalist, Muralikant Petkar, and chronicles his inspiring journey against all odds. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Khan talked about the lacklustre performance of the movie at the box office.
EXCLUSIVE: Kabir Khan on lacklustre opening weekend of Kartik Aaryan starrer Chandu Champion: “Have seen a lot of films that don’t do wonders at the box office but are spoken about for years to come”
When asked whether he has been able to understand what went wrong after seeing opening day figures, Kabir Khan said, “It is too early to say what are the reasons but post-COVID it has become very difficult to analyse logically what is happening in terms of the behaviour. The opening was definitely lower than what we all were expecting because of the tremendous response to the trailer, to the song units that were out. So, one would expect a slightly healthier opening but that didn’t pan out the way we wanted to.”
However, Khan and the entire team of Chandu Champion are happy that the film is growing in business with positive word-of-mouth. He said, “We still believe in the film strongly, we are happy with the film and are inundated with the love. When you make a film on Murlikant Petkar some of that attitude has got to rub off on you, so we have our heads held high, the film will overcome the hurdles the way Murlikant did.”
Khan said that he has worked for many years but he has yet to reach the ‘zen stage’ for the opening weekend numbers. But, he admitted in the interview that he doesn’t judge a film based on the opening weekend figures. He added, “But I have reached that stage where I have realised that opening weekend is not the time to decide what has happened to your film. It is the longevity of a film that ultimately gets judged. I have seen too many blockbusters that have a life of a week in people’s minds. I have seen a lot of films that don’t do wonders at the box office but are spoken about for years to come.”
“We have received tremendous love from critics and the audience for Chandu Champion and now we are keeping our fingers crossed that slowly and slowly, because that is the trend these days, we keep building up with word of mouth at the box office and take Murlikant Petkar’s film to the finish line, the way he did in his real life,” he added.
Chandu Champion delves into the life of a man whose name doesn’t hold the same weight as some of India’s sporting giants. Yet, Petkar’s story is no less remarkable. The film portrays his unwavering spirit and unwavering dedication to athletics in the face of immense adversity, from poverty to a life-altering injury.
Directed by the acclaimed Kabir Khan and co-produced by Khan and Sajid Nadiadwala, Chandu Champion hit theatres on June 14, 2024.
ALSO READ: Kabir Khan reacts to lukewarm opening for Kartik Aaryan starrer Chandu Champion: “The slow start did throw us off balance”
More Pages: Chandu Champion Box Office Collection
, Chandu Champion Movie Review
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