Once mocked for aspiring to write for films, Sumit Arora has proved himself time and again with his pen. The dialogue writer of hit films including ‘Stree’ and ‘Jawan’ once again collaborated with Kabir Khan for ‘Chandu Champion’ after their successful sports flick, ’83.’ The reunion has taken over the box office with its screenplay and Kartik Aaryan’s phenomenal performance as the lead.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, the writer reflected on the challenges of portraying the reality of someone’s life. While writing for a fictionalized story comes with a license for creative liberty, it is not as easy with a biopic, as the responsibility to capture the essence of authenticity rests on the makers’ shoulders. Reflecting on this, Arora told the publication, “Unlike a fictional character, where the boundaries are being set by you, the writer or the director, in a real-life adaptation, the boundaries are already laid out by the person who has lived that life.”

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Further, the screenwriter commented on the challenges of portraying the story of a man who has remained significantly absent from the limelight, as opposed to Kapil Dev (‘83’). Deliberating on the challenge, the writer recalled that it was difficult for him and director Kabir Khan. On one hand, they had the option to portray the person as they wanted, and on the other, they had to follow a charted route as the person on whom the film was made would be watching it with the makers. Arora reflected on the task of maintaining boundaries and respecting the sentiments of the person and his family without glossing the narrative too much.

In another interview with Indian Express, Arora was probed about the issue of ‘sports biopic fatigue,’ as such films are already being made in abundance and are formulaic to an extent. Commenting on this challenge with reference to ‘Chandu,’ the writer claimed that one needs to find different ways to tell the story to break the monotony created by the emergence of several biopics. “Somewhere we were attempting that by taking the tone of humor. I personally believe that a certain sense of humor differentiates the film from other movies. It has a sense of wonder; it is almost like a fable. What also differentiated this story from other stories is that it was not focused on one particular sport. It was a story of one man’s dream of winning an Olympics medal, no matter what sport.”

Prior to the Kartik Aaryan starrer, Sumit Arora and Kabir Khan collaborated for Ranveer Singh’s ‘83’ that portrayed the momentous World Cup win for India. Arora has also been credited as a writer for ‘Jawan,’ ‘Stree,’ and successful web series including ‘Dahaad,’ ‘Guns & Gulaabs,’ and ‘The Family Man’ among others.