An American film released in 1994 would go on to become a classic and popular film for decades to come. Actually, it was Tom Hanks starrer Forrest Gump. The film was praised for its feel-good, almost fictional story, smooth integration of some major historical events, and a heartfelt performance from Tom Hanks. After more than 20 years, we have Advait Chandan’s Laal Singh Chaddha, starring Aamir Khan in the lead, the Indian adaptation of the 90s film.
Like the original film, Laal Singh Chaddha tells the story of his retarded and possibly autistic titular character as he recounts important events of his life to complete strangers on a train. Through his retellings, we see some of the most important events in modern Indian history unfold from Lal’s unique perspective. How Lal reaches the present day while facing discrimination and scorn daily and yearning for his childhood sweetheart, Roopa, is the crux of the film.
Lal Singh Chaddha is a faithful adaptation of Forrest Gump. Those who have seen the 1994 film will pick up on the scene-by-scene adaptations and sometimes translated dialogues in the Aamir-starrer. However, screenwriter Atul Kulkarni added the much-needed Indian context to engage the Indian audience with the story. A good example of this would be the use of the golgappa analogy in place of the chocolate box in the original film. The result is a film that tells the story from an Indian perspective.
Apart from the Indianisation of Forrest Gump’s story, Laal Singh Chaddha has Satyajit Pandey’s mesmerizing cinematography. Shots from Red’s nationwide marathon capture the essence of the locations used, creating a beautiful visual representation of the character’s journey. The beauty of these scenes are the soulful voices of Arijit Singh, Sonu Nigam, Shadab Faridi, Altamash Faridi and Mohan Kannan, singing meaningful songs written by Amitabh Bhattacharya and composed by Pritam.
Kareena Kapoor’s Roopa, the Indian version of Forrest Gump’s Jenny, however, is a marvel of Laal Singh Chaddha with child actor Ahmed Ibn Umar. Unlike Jenny from the original film, Roopa has more depth and soul and a distinct character arc under the Advait Chandan directorial. We see that his story is told not only through Kapoor’s acting but also through his outfit and news headlines. Umar, who plays the young Lal in the film, delivers a solid performance while summarizing the innocence of his character and grabbing your attention in the process.
The downfall of this 164-minute film is how it clings to the philosophy and elements of Forrest Gump, repeating (and sometimes omitting) the same superficial narrative that is modern historical events in the original. Some forced character narratives didn’t help the case either. Also, Aamir’s portrayal of adult Laal leaves a lot to be desired as we get a mash of his characters from PK and Secret Superstar till the last few minutes of the film. The Bollywood version of Punjabi only adds an almost satirical portrayal of the adult Lal.
Despite all its flaws, Laal Singh Chaddha is a fine adaptation of the original. While it didn’t realize the potential to add more Indian elements, the film did have some creative choices that made the story and the overall feel a little more impressive. If you can spot some hmmmy performances, Laal Singh Chaddha is worth watching this weekend.
Decision: Laal Singh Chaddha is a faithful adaptation of Forrest Gump with just the right amount of Indian flavor to connect with the audience, soulful music and amazing visuals.
