India’s first Paralympic gold medalist Murlikant Petkar: who was hit by 9 bullets in the India-Pakistan war; Karthik’s film Chandu Champion is based on his life.

Kartik Aryan’s upcoming film Chandu Champion will be released in theaters on June 14, 2024. The story of the film is inspired by the life of India’s first Paralympic swimmer Murlikant Petkar. Murlikant Petkar has been a part of the Indian Army. He was hit by 9 bullets in the India-Pakistan war in 1965. His condition became so bad during this war that he was paralyzed from the waist down. He was not even in a position to walk. However, even after all this, he did not stop. He won the title of India’s first Paralympic swimmer in 1972. Before the release of the film, read who Murlikant Petkar was… Murlikant Petkar was an expert in sports from the beginning. He was born on 1 November 1944 in a small village in Sangli district of Maharashtra. Since childhood, he was more interested in sports. He was fond of wrestling. He was often seen in the wrestling arena. At the age of 12, he defeated the son of the village head in wrestling. He felt that after this victory the entire village would celebrate. However, this did not happen rather his family was threatened by the chief’s people. Muralikant got Rs 12 for this victory. Due to continuous threats, he took Rs 12 and ran away from home. Muralikant forgot this after a few days, but even he did not know whether the village or the whole world would celebrate his success in the future. When he grew up, he became a part of the Indian Army. When he grew up, Muralikant joined the Indian Army. Even here his interest in sports did not diminish. Here he started boxing. He won an award in the International Services Sports Meet held in Tokyo in 1964. Muralikant was hit by 9 bullets in the war of 1965. In 1965, Muralikant was posted in Sialkot. War started between India and Pakistan in the month of September. Muralikant also took part in this war. During the war, he was hit by 9 bullets while fighting with the Pakistanis. One bullet had entered his spine. Not only this, a truck had passed over his legs, due to which he was paralyzed from the waist down. However, later Muralikant started walking with the help of crutches. It has also been claimed in many reports that he had lost his memory for some time due to this accident. Muralikant, India’s first Paralympic swimmer in 1972, did not want to remain bedridden even after being in such a bad condition. He also did not want to be a burden on the family. Here he once again took the help of sports. After a few months of treatment, he started learning swimming with the help of a coach. Then he started preparing for Paralympics in the category of parafree swimming. For some time his hard work bore fruit. In 1972, he completed 50 meter freestyle swimming in just 37.33 seconds. With this he became India’s first Paralympic swimmer and was also awarded the gold medal. Not only this, he also won silver medal in javelin throw and bronze medal in shot-put. Had refused to take help from Tata Group. The story is also that Tata Group had decided to help the soldiers injured in the 1965 war. However, Muralikant refused to take help. He believed that no one should show pity on his condition. Even though he is disabled, he can take care of himself. He told the company that he did not need help, if he wanted help then he should give it. Hearing his answer, the company people were impressed and offered him a job in Telco. Muralikant had worked here for 30 years. Wanted Arjan Award but was refused by the government. After becoming disabled, Murlikanth brought glory to India in the country as well as in the world. But he did not get the respect he deserved on time. He had written a letter to the then government in 1982. In that letter he had requested that he was entitled to the Arjan Award. However, the government rejected his request. He was very saddened by this. He believed that he was deprived of this honor because of his disability. After this attitude of the government, he made a bundle of evidence of all his achievements (which included medals and certificates) and kept it hidden in a corner forever. Many years have passed since the news was received in 2018 that Padmashree was being awarded. Muralikant had even forgotten this. Then in 2018 he got a call. He was told that this year he was to be honored with the Padmashree Award. He was overjoyed to hear this. Presently 79 year old Muralikant lives in Pune with his family. The trailer of the film Chandu Champion was released last Saturday. At the trailer launch event, the film’s hero Kartik Aryan talked about the film. He said, ‘When director Kabir Khan sir gave me the narration of this story, I was surprised. Sir, I asked the same question whether this is a true story or fictional. The question was asked because there are many turns and twists in this story. There are also many historical moments in this story. Such things cannot normally happen in anyone’s life. I had agreed to the film because of Kabir sir and Sajid sir. But for 1-2 months there was doubt in my mind whether I would be able to do this film or not. For so many months, I was going to the gym every day, not even eating food, nor signing any other film. However, now after reaching here all the fear is gone.

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