By
KOMAL NAHTA
That Kartik Aaryan has been pretty excited about the trailer launch of his forthcoming film, Chandu Champion, is well-known. The man underwent transformation to play the character and undertook gruelling training sessions to make his character look as authentic as possible. He has been regularly posting about the upcoming event on Instagram. Obviously then, the excitement for the trailer launch on 18th May in Gwalior was at its peak.
But in the midst of all the excitement came the terrible news about the demise of Kartik’s maternal uncle and aunt two days back (15th). The circumstances under which Aaryan’s mama and mami died were even more heart-wrenching. Manoj Chansoriya, the ATC official, and his wife, who had been missing since the huge hoarding fell on a petrol pump at Ghatkopar in Bombay in the dust storm on 13th May, were none other than Kartik’s uncle and aunt. They were at the petrol pump in their car for refuelling when tragedy struck. They were the only ones who could not be located for two days after the accident.
It is said that the couple was heading to their home town (Jabalpur) on the fateful day after a brief holiday in Bombay where Kartik’s uncle had come to complete some paperwork. He had retired as the general manager at the Air Traffic Control (ATC) in March this year. The bodies of the 60-year-old Manoj and his 59-year-old wife, Anita, were discovered under the rubble late on 15th evening in a decomposed state. The last signal of Manoj’s cellphone was traced to the petrol pump, raising fears that the couple was under the debris. Besides the police, the ATC personnel had also launched a search for the retired general manager. Although the rescue team reached the car, pulling out the dead bodies of the couple was difficult owing to the severe impact of the crash. The final rites were conducted late in the evening on 15th by the couple’s son, who lives in the US.
On hearing the news about the demise, the producers of Chandu Champion forthwith decided to postpone the trailer launch event in Gwalior for which, incidentally, the media was being flown in from all over India. But Kartik asked them to go ahead with the event as a lot of efforts had already gone in to make the trailer launch a spectacle. Like a true hero, Kartik Aaryan is reported to have told producer Sajid Nadiadwala and producer-director Kabir Khan that his personal tragedy should not be mixed with his professional commitments and that they should continue with the preparations for the Gwalior event.
Since Gwalior is Kartik’s home town, his parents were also scheduled to accompany the star for the trailer launch. However, Kartik’s mother left for Jabalpur to be with her brother’s family in their hour of grief, and will, therefore, not be with Kartik for the launch of the trailer of Chandu Champion.
P.S.: I had met, had dinner and interacted with Kartik’s uncle, Mr. Manoj Chansoriya, when Kartik had invited me to his home one evening. I vividly remember Mr. Chansoriya explaining to me what his highly technical job at the airport entailed. He was a soft-spoken person and very unassuming too. May his soul as well as the soul of his wife rest in eternal peace.
