Taran Adarsh opens up on Chandu Champion’s box office performance: “Such stories need to be told in the most honest way which the makers have done. Full marks to Kartik Aaryan and the team of the film for going all out.”

The Kartik Aaryan starrer Chandu Champion is having a decent run at the box office. The film started on a slow note but it surprised the trade in its second weekend. It collected Rs. 34.25 crores in its first week and on the second Friday; it earned Rs. 2.50 crores, which was the same that it accumulated a day before on Thursday. It gave an indication that the second weekend would be impressive. And that’s what happened as collections jumped to Rs. 4.75 crores on the second Saturday and Rs. 6.10 crores on the second Sunday. However, the slow start affected the overall box office performance of the Kabir Khan directorial.Bollywood Hungama spoke exclusively with trade veteran Taran Adarsh on why Chandu Champion didn’t do better despite the immense positive word of mouth. He emphasized, “Chandu Champion is a very well-made film. There’s no denying that. Director Kabir Khan has excelled and so has Kartik Aaryan. Such stories need to be told in the most honest way, which the makers have done. Having said that, today the demand is that the film needs to be entertainment-laden, that too, beyond the metros. The audience wants wholesome entertainment. A film like this does have its highs and lows. But overall, it’s a very story-based and drama-based film. The core audience of such a film, be it Maidaan earlier or now Chandu Champion, is limited post-pandemic to metros. As a result, the praise and the critical acclaim has not converted into footfalls in tier 2 and 3 centres.”He continued, “What we are seeing right now is the divide between metros and mass centres. And it’s the latter where the major business lies.”Taran Adarsh also said, “One might argue that Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013; which was also a period sports drama) did very well earlier. But let’s not forget that it had incredible music which has tremendous recall value even today. That was missing in the case of Chandu Champion and even Maidaan.”He, however, praised the passionate work of the team, “Full marks to Kartik Aaryan and the team of the film for going all out. Unfortunately, it did not really work as intended.”On its second weekend performance, Taran Adarsh opined, “The second weekend has really sprung a good surprise. Now, I feel the lifetime can go above Rs. 60 crores. There’s an obstacle on the way in the form of Kalki 2898 AD which arrives on Thursday, June 27. Until Wednesday, it has the time to have a clean run as from Thursday, Kalki 2898 AD will be occupying a bulk of the screens. Hence, the collections in the coming weekend will be impacted not just for Chandu Champion, but every other holdover release as they would have lesser screen space and show timings.”Taran Adarsh rued that a bigger opening would have seen Chandu Champion go beyond many other recent releases, “A fantastic start would have kept it in a comfortable position. But the start was not there, sadly.”At the same time, he made it clear that Chandu Champion’s box office performance won’t affect Kartik Aaryan’s next, the horror comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. He said, “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 won’t be affected at all. On the day of Chandu Champion’s release, I told Kartik, ‘Your film hasn’t really taken a great start at the box office. But don’t get disheartened. This is a film that needs to be nurtured and goes with word of mouth, unlike Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 which is a front-loaded film and which will start with a bang’. That’s a masala entertainer and a brand. You may be known by your last film but aapki aane waali film kaisi jaayegi, no one can predict. Shah Rukh Khan gave a spate of flops and yet, Pathaan started with a bang. Salman Khan had a lull phase before Wanted.”He continued, “Nevertheless, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 garam hogi as it’s a brand and also, it has Kartik. But it won’t now have the benefit of an open run due to the clash with Singham Again on Diwali.”Also Read: Chandu Champion makers surprise the audience with trailer no. 2 of the Kartik Aaryan starrer