Kabir Khan is gearing up for the release of his upcoming film Chandu Champion. The sports drama film features Kartik Aaryan in the lead role. The movie will hit the big screens on June 14. Ahead of the release, the director spoke about the box office failure of his previous sports drama film 83, starring Ranveer Singh. 

Kabir Khan looks back at the failure of 83 

Kabir Khan’s last directorial before Chandu Champion was 83. The sports drama narrated the journey of the Indian cricket team during the historic 1983 world cup win. Ranveer Singh headlined the film and essayed the role of legendary sportsman Kapil Dev. Despite the star-studded cast and powerful plot, the film failed to perform well at the box office. Released in 2021, the film faced a setback due to the lockdown enforced by COVID pandemic. 

Speaking to DNA about the film’s underwhelming performance, directed Kabir Khan shared, “What happened with 83 is where the strength and conviction of a filmmaker is tested. Having been in this industry for so many years, I know what works for an audience when it is coming from me. So with 83, I will be honest, it was very depressing when it happened. I personally feel that till date, craftwise it was my best film. Then it hit this roadblock where we were not being able to release and when we released, we couldn’t have chosen a worse day.” 

Kabir Khan on why he chose to do another sports biopic after 83 

The maker also opined on why he chose to direct another sports drama after the failure of 83. The Chandu Champion director shared, “Logic would have said don’t pick up Chandu Champion. It’s also a true story, a sports biopic. What happened to 83 at the box office should have made me try something else.” 

He added that it was his gut instincts to make the movie and had to tell the story. Khan shared, “ut no! This film gives me goosebumps every time I think about it. It’s compelling me to make this. That is the gut instinct I trusted before, and that is the gut instinct I will stick to and continue.” Chandu Champion also stars Bhuvan Arora, Yashpal Sharma, Vijay Raaz, Rajpal Yadav, and Palak Lalwani.