Laal Singh Chaddha: How Aamir Khan adapted Forrest Gump to Bollywood

Bollywood star Aamir Khan waited a decade to secure the rights to the 1994 Oscar-winning film Forrest Gump.

It was only in 2018 that he began work on Laal Singh Chaddha, the formal adaptation of the Tom Hanks classic, which opens in theaters on Thursday.

Khan collaborated with debutant screenwriter Atul Kulkarni and director Advait Chandan to bring the film to the theatres. According to the film's production notes, he wanted to make it a "respectful tribute to the original and take it in an exciting new direction".

While reading the first script, the makers put up a few chairs in a room in an attempt to recreate the atmosphere of a train.

Chandan says, “We put people in his place and started reading. Khan had internalized Lal so much that he immediately came out systematically. He was straight Lal.” "Khan stayed with this character for almost 10 years".

India has adopted many Hollywood, Korean and European films. But Laal Singh Chaddha Hai Khas: Filmmaker Karan Johar said in his popular show that "there has never been a remake of such an iconic Hollywood film" in Bollywood.

Laal Singh Chaddha is like a "cover song of a classic I really liked", says Chandan. Although Forrest Gump is a quintessential American film, he says it is a "universal story to which we can bring Indian flavor."

Just as Gump in the Hollywood version, with a good heart, travels through milestones in American history - the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal - Chadha's life takes him through the cultural and political turning points of 20th century India. Is.

He is a witness to epoch-making events including India's first Cricket World Cup victory and an armed conflict with Pakistan in Kargil.

Keeping in mind the love of Bollywood music, the film is loaded with songs. "If a film doesn't have songs, it doesn't sound Indian to me," says Chandan.

The makers say that the film has changed the story of the original Forrest Gump and brought elements that make it Indian.

Gump's famous metaphor, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you'll get" has been replaced with a reference to golgappas, a popular Indian street snack, which are crunchy, round balls filled with chickpeas and potatoes. Dipped in shells and sweets, Spicy water.