How Bollywood star Aamir Khan brought his Hindi adaptation of Forrest Gump to life
CBC
In a new Hindi-language adaptation of Forrest Gump, life isn't like a box of chocolates — it's like a box of golgappas, an Indian street food delicacy composed of flatbread, filling and spiced water.
Bollywood actor Aamir Khan — one of the biggest movie stars in the world — delivers a similar but distinct line about the popular snack as the main character in Laal Singh Chaddha, a faithful remake of the 1994 classic starring Tom Hanks.
Khan, who counts the original among his favourite movies, said the new production happened "quite by accident" after a conversation with fellow actor Atul Kulkarni.
"We were discussing Forrest Gump and I was saying how it's one of my favourite films. And then two weeks later, he calls me up and says, I've written an adaptation for Forrest Gump," the veteran actor told CBC News.
"Atul is not a writer," said Khan, who plays protagonist Laal from his college years until middle age. "And he's written it in two weeks, and [it's] an adaptation of Forrest Gump — it's a cult classic. So I didn't have much hope from that."
The resulting script lived up to Khan's standards (he's known as "Mr. Perfectionist" in the Indian media) and to the spirit of the original film: Laal Singh Chaddha swaps out Elvis Presley's gyrating hips for Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan's open arms; Vietnam for the Kargil War; and the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company for Rupa Company, an Indian knitwear brand.
WATCH | Movie star Aamir Khan talks about the controversy surrounding his new film:
Like Forrest, Laal is a simple-minded man who cares deeply about his loved ones, especially his mother (Mona Singh) and his childhood friend and love, Rupa (Kareena Kapoor Khan). Instead of Forrest Gump's flower child Jenny, who dies after years of drug abuse, Rupa is an aspiring actress caught in a dangerous cycle of domestic violence.
He offers his life story — one backdropped by significant moments in India's history, like Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination and the country's 1983 Cricket World Cup win — to a group of strangers on a train.
It took Khan eight years to acquire the remake rights to Forrest Gump. Laal Singh Chaddha, which was released around the world on Thursday, has been the target of a campaign to boycott the film, after remarks that Khan made seven years ago resurfaced on social media.
Khan, who is Muslim and plays a Sikh man in Laal Singh Chaddha, said during a 2015 event that "intolerance" within the political climate in India was taking its toll on his family. He said it especially affected his then-wife, Kiran Rao.
"Kiran and I have lived all our lives in India. For the first time, she said, should we move out of India? That's a disastrous and big statement for Kiran to make to me. She fears for her child," Khan had said.
The comments were interpreted as anti-Hindu, especially with supporters of India's current prime minister, Narendra Modi, the leader of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, which espouses a form of Hindu nationalism.
Khan was referring to increased violence against India's religious minorities, including Muslims and Sikhs. The actor later explained that his words were taken out of context: "I love my country," he said in 2016.
