At The Movies: In Indian remake of Forrest Gump, life is like a box of golgappa
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Still from the film Laal Singh Chadda starring Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor.
PHOTO: UIP
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Laal Singh Chaddha (PG13)
169 minutes, opens on Aug 11
4 stars
The story: In this Indian remake of comedy-drama Forrest Gump (1994), Laal (played by Aamir Khan as an adult) is born to a single mother who farms her own land. Intellectually, he is slower than other children. His mother (Mona Singh) puts him in a mainstream school anyway, where he meets Rupa (played by Kareena Kapoor as an adult), who will play a pivotal role in his life.
As he grows into adulthood and journeys through school, the army and his jog across India, Laal becomes involved in the nation's most tumultuous events - when all he wants is to be with his mother and beloved Rupa.
Two reasons to watch this well-acted, superbly crafted film, in spite of its issues:
1. It is a beautiful fantasy with a couple of troubling ideas
This remake, produced by Khan and directed by Advait Chandan, is a faithful adaptation of the much-loved 1994 Tom Hanks movie, which itself is adapted from Winston Groom's 1986 novel of the same name.
The film is carried by the main character's innocence and optimism, traits that Khan easily embodies in his portrayal of Laal. Even though this reviewer has watched Forrest Gump a few times, the scenes in that movie which brought a lump to the throat did so again in this Indian version.
Both movies create a world in which a slow-witted but virtuous man - the classic holy fool of literature - is rewarded because of, not despite, his handicap.
While this is clearly a sentimental fantasy, it is also a morality tale that reinforces dodgy ideas. It begins with how mothers who love their developmentally challenged children will keep them out of special schools, followed by the notion that the women loved by the foolish protagonists deserve their fates because their dreams are improper.
The sainted mother and the fallen woman bookend the life of the holy fool.
2. It is fun to compare and contrast the old and new films
Khan's film Indianises Groom's uniquely American story in clever ways. There are a couple of easy transpositions -Gump's Vietnam War becomes the Kargil War between India and Pakistan, and singer Elvis Presley is replaced by an Indian icon.
But there are other references that show the film-makers' desire to be as historically and culturally specific as they can. They include inserting Bollywood plot touches into the movie.
The arc of the Lieutenant Dan character, played by Gary Sinise in the original film, for example, has been morphed into a highly enjoyable enemy-turned-best-friend plot thread.
