Filmmaker Kabir Khan isn’t quite done with sports dramas after Chandu Champion (2024). Nor is he done with the movie’s leading man Kartik Aaryan. The director called action on his next, a yet-untitled sports drama inspired by Kashmiri kickboxing prodigy Tajamul Islam, at a restaurant in Parel on March 16. While details about the actor playing the kickboxing star are kept under wraps, Aaryan will reportedly play her coach in the movie. 

On the first day of the shoot, Khan filmed with a crowd of nearly 70 junior artistes at a popular Parel restaurant that was reimagined to capture the texture of a lived-in, middle-class world. Aaryan is expected to join the unit later this week. “The early scenes are about grounding the story in everyday details. Kartik will join by the weekend. He has been training in kickboxing for the role,” said an insider.