Shabana Azmi praised Kartik Aaryan’s portrayal of freestyle swimmer Murlikant Petkar in Kabir Khan’s Chandu Champion and said that she was deeply moved by the film. She wrote a short note on Instagram praising the film.

She posted a photo where she can be seen giving a peck to Kartik. She wrote in the caption, “I was deeply moved by Kabir Khan’s film, Chandu Champion and I loved Kartik Aryan’s portrayal. He played it with an almost child determination with an extremely winsome smile which prevented him from projecting it as arrogance. Vijay Raaz as the coach is very effective. It’s a real-life story and I say Salaam (Kudos) to Kabir for making it in his lifetime so he got to watch it with his family.”

Kartik reposted it on his Instagram feed and wrote, “Mujhe Meri Eidi Mil Gayi (I got my Eidi). Every word you said feels like a medal for me.”

The film is written by Kabir himself, Sumit Arora, and Sudipto Sarkar, and it stars Vijay Raaz and Rajpal Yadav in pivotal roles. It is jointly produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and Kabir Khan and was released in theatres on June 14.

CE’s review of the film read, “An underdog, an undying hope and a war, Chandu Champion is a textbook Kabir Khan presentation. The director’s flair for the medium shines in the one-take sequence where Kartik’s Murlikant gets shot as warplanes bombard their army base (cinematography by Sudeep Chatterjee). The boxing matches, under a golden hue, have a feverish urgency. The film, however, remains a predictable sports drama with scenes like the one in which the simpleton lead screams his fright aboard his first flight. Chandu Champion performs during intense moments but its light interludes remain functional.”