Nearly a year after Chandu Champion released in cinemas, new details about the film’s casting have come to light. Actor Bhuvan Arora recently revealed that the late Sushant Singh Rajput was originally meant to play the lead role.

Sushant Bought the Biopic Rights

In an interview with Hindi Rush, Arora shared that Sushant had bought the rights to make a movie on Murlikant Petkar, India’s first Paralympic gold medallist. Arora recalled meeting Sushant at the airport, where the actor spoke about his plans.

He said, “Ironically, I did a movie Chandu Champion. Initially, Sushant was supposed to do it. He had the rights to that film. Story rights were also with Sushant. He must have bought it from Murlikant Petkar. Even Murlikant sir said it in one of the interviews. I bumped into Sushant at the airport and he told me that he was going to do a film about a paralympic swimmer. We both loved acting and used to talk to each other, we discussed on the film.”

The Film Eventually Went to Kartik Aaryan

However, after Sushant’s untimely death in 2020, the project moved ahead without him. Kartik Aaryan later stepped into the lead role.

Arora added, “Obviously, it slipped off my mind. Recently, when Chandu Champion was released, I saw an interview of Murlikant sir in which he said that Sushant was supposed to do this film initially. I don’t know the details of it but ironically, that time I wasn’t there in that movie. Now, I was a part of this film but Sushant wasn’t there.”

Film Released in June 2024

Directed by Kabir Khan, Chandu Champion hit theatres on June 14, 2024. The biographical drama focused on the inspirational journey of Murlikant Petkar. Viewers and critics gave mixed reviews after its release.