MUMBAI (AFP) - Bollywood megastar Aamir Khan announced on Thursday (March 14) that he is to star in a Hindi-language remake of hit American movie Forrest Gump.

He will play the role of Laal Singh Chaddha, based on Tom Hanks' character in the 1994 classic.

"I have always loved Forrest Gump as a script. It is a life-affirming story. It is a feel-good film. It is a film for the whole family," Khan told reporters in Mumbai on his 54th birthday.

Forrest Gump won six Oscars, including best picture, best director and best actor for Hanks.

The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and based on Winston Groom's 1986 novel of the same name. It centres on the life of a dim-witted but kind man whose life mirrors key events in America in the 20th century.

Khan, who last appeared in box-office flop Thugs Of Hindostan, said he would lose 20kg for the role.

"I have to be lean and slim," he explained, adding that shooting would start in October.