Action on the airstrip

Kartik Aaryan and Kabir Khan

In September, Kartik Aaryan and director Kabir Khan took their maiden collaboration, Chandu Champion, on floors in London. It was followed by an extensive schedule in Kashmir. Now, in the film's last leg, the team has been shooting relentlessly across different pockets of Mumbai. mid-day has learnt that Khan recently had an elaborate set of a runway built at Ghatkopar Police Ground to film a critical sequence in the biopic of Murlikant Petkar.

It turns out that over the past three days, the leading man canned the sequence with a crowd of 200 people. A source reveals, "The scene, which comes at a crucial juncture in the narrative, needed a massive crowd. Kabir is known for his attention to detail. The director had earmarked three days for the set-piece, ensuring that he shot it exactly how it had played out in real life." The unit has taken a break for Christmas today, and another for New Year. Other than that, they are making brisk progress through the schedule, and hope to wrap up the film in January.

Chandu Champion is an important project for Aaryan, who has been known for his light-hearted roles so far. With the biopic, he steps into the shoes of Petkar, who sustained grave injuries in the 1965 India-Pakistan War and rose against the odds to become India's first Paralympic gold medalist.