Last week, my love for cinema had a revival. Films have always had a lasting impact on me, they encourage me, inspire me and most importantly, fill me with immense hope.
Hope. Something I have been lacking tremendously in my life recently. Ever since my life did a complete turnaround last year, my days have been devoid of a sense of purpose. Passion. Optimism. Just because, something I had hoped, tried to manifest and worked hard for, didn’t come to fruition exactly the way I envisioned, I found myself subconsciously abandoning my dreams. Why bother? Things just don’t work out.
This kind of thinking led me to approach my work with a tentative reluctance. While I do enjoy what I do, I found myself holding back, fearful that things might go awry—not fully committing in case it all turned out to be a waste. My hesitation towards my work stemmed from the unexpected path my life had taken, one I had desperately tried to avoid. I quickly adopted the belief that things don’t always go as planned, which became a constant presumption. Until last week, if you had asked me where my passions lay, the blank expression on my face would have sufficed as an answer. I felt devoid of passions, aspirations, or anything to look forward to in the mornings, haunted by this new presumption clouding my mind.
I want to clarify, we don’t constantly need to be working towards something as is incessantly pushed down our throats by the hustle culture that surrounds us. It’s perfectly acceptable to simply live, to pause and reflect, to let your mind wander freely. To ride the peaceful, mundane waves of everyday life.
That’s what I did for a couple of months until I was met with an intense feeling of being stuck in a rut. I felt hopeless, with no sense of direction for my life. I didn’t know what I wanted now that my previous dream had slipped through my fingers. It was as if my life had come to a standstill while I watched others swift through their careers, personal lives and what have you.
It was like sitting under Sylvia Plath’s fig tree, dreaming of my future. One by one, the figs started falling to my feet at tremendous speed. Which one do I catch? Time is running out; I need to make a decision quickly. What is the right decision? Unable to decide, the figs all lay there, rotting away while the pressure to choose paralyzed me from picking just one.
That was until last week, when I spent an afternoon at the cinema watching a new Bollywood film, Chandu Champion. Walking into the freshly minted cinema, with the world locked away on the other side of the door and life on hold for a mere three hours (Bollywood films are long), I sat with my hands on my lap, ready to be inspired again. And inspired I was.
Chandu Champion, is a story based on Murlikant Petkar. Hailing from a small town that goes by the name of Sangli, in Maharashtra the third largest state in India, Petkar’s story is one of gumption and persistence. The film starts with a young Petkar, who develops this spark to win an Olympic Gold Medal for India. Considering the improbable nature of this dream, he’s mocked by his classmates and discouraged by his father. This spark quickly turns into a flame, after all, what does this spark need but a bit of fuel made up of ridicule and doubt?
This dream drives him daily, both at school and home. As a young adult, he runs away from his village, joins the army, and trains as a boxer, hoping to reach the Olympics. However, he sustains severe injuries during the Indo-Pakistan war in 1965, leaving him with nine bullets in his body and one still in his spine, rendering him a paraplegic.
Although, a lot of reviews about this film, calls Petkar a ‘man with unwavering zeal’ who with an ‘attitude to never give up on his dream leads him to winning the gold medal’. I can’t help but feel that they miss an important point: it's okay to give up or to stop along the way.
You see, he did admit defeat after his injuries which is completely understandable. Working so hard, constantly, for years for a dream is no easy feat. He gives up because he’s tired of the adversaries that keep coming his way, he feels defeated by them. Now, going on what the film portrayed, he is encouraged to keep going by his former coach, a fellow Army man. After all behind every successful person, is a team of people who believed in them, pushed them to do better, and offered their shoulder when they needed a break.
I know films inspired by athletes and their struggles are infused with the ultimate depiction of showing grit, determination, and willpower. They have time and again inspired people around the world—Hollywood and Bollywood alike. However, they often portray unrealistic standards of athletes putting themselves through hell, never giving up. They fail to acknowledge the importance of rest, reflection, and sometimes, the necessity of changing course in pursuit of more realistic or fulfilling goals. It’s necessary to promote the message that it’s okay to pivot and change our approach rather than give up entirely, especially for the generation I am part of.
For me, it means sitting back and recuperating, taking care of myself, and looking inward to figure out what it is I truly want to do—not in the grand sense of my life's purpose, but in the daily sense. How can I fill my days to find moments of peace and happiness? It involves allowing myself to navigate things from different perspectives and granting the freedom to view things through various lenses.
For Petkar, becoming a paraplegic due to his injury was a moment that nearly made him give up. His vision for the future became clouded. With the help and guidance of his coach, however, he found renewed perception and eventually enrolled in the Paralympics. The film vividly portrays Petkar's journey—how he falls down, remains grounded, accepts help, allows his body to heal, and trains rigorously for the Paralympics, ultimately triumphing. It's a powerful reminder of how changing our perception while accepting and adapting to new circumstances can lead to unexpected victories.
There’s a saying that goes, 'There’s no one path to success.' Similarly, there’s no singular route to achieving your dreams. Sometimes, it’s about navigating a maze that keeps shifting, adapting as you go, and embracing the twists and turns along the way. Petkar’s journey exemplifies this truth: from aspiring Olympian to wounded soldier to Paralympic champion, his path was far from linear. It’s a testament to resilience, flexibility, and the willingness to embrace new directions in pursuit of our aspirations.
This film gave me the freedom to dream again.
All my life, I had one dream that I did achieve, just in a different way. But my mind kept telling me it went unfulfilled. I realized my dream was never about a place or a tangible thing. It took this film to help me figure out that my dream is a feeling. So, although the “right” path to this dream has altered, I am still on a path. My perception has changed, I am looking at this present moment in a different light. Now I see opportunities instead of limitations. Experiences instead of failures. Gratitude instead of loss. Abundance instead of lack.
Petkar’s story is a reminder that sometimes, we need to pivot and change our approach. His journey is not just about relentless perseverance but about adaptability and finding new ways to reach our goals.
The film made me realize that having a supportive community and being open to different paths are essential in our pursuit of dreams.
Perception, passion, and the actions that take you to your dreams are what truly matter. Chandu Champion reminded me that it’s not just about the end goal or the relentless pursuit that hustle culture glorifies. It’s about the journey, the shifts in perspective, the people who support us, and the moments that reignite our passion and give us hope. It’s about recognizing the value of our cultural narratives and drawing strength from our heritage. In these stories, we find not just the drive to succeed but the wisdom to navigate our paths with perception and grace.
This letter was a stream of consciousness inspired by a film that sparked a deep emotion in me, prompting me to make sense of my feelings towards it through this letter. I’m afraid I haven’t concisely put my thoughts regardless, I’m curious to hear your thoughts on the theme of this essay.
Thank you for reading!
xoxo
Reet
I'll definitely add this movie to my watchlist ^^
Really enjoyed reading this... and I think you articulated your thoughts brilliantly well. For me, the theme of this essay is that there is no "right" path to success, that dreams can have diversions, and that those diversions are just as treasured and important and valid.