Laal Singh Chaddha stars Aamir Khan in the titular role along with Kareena Kapoor Khan as Rupa, Mona Singh as Laal’s mother, Naga Chaitanya as Bala, Manav Vij as Mohammad, Ahmad Ibn Umar as Young Laal and many others. The Hindi movie is an official adaptation of the 1994 Hollywood film, Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks. The story is based on Winston Groom’s novel ‘Forrest Gump’.

The story for the Hindi movie is penned by Atul Kulkarni and directed by Advait Chandan. The music is by Pritam with Tanuj Tiku’s background score. Satyajit Pande has worked as the cinematographer, and the editing is done by Hemanti Sarkar. The movie is produced by Aamir Khan Productions and Viacom18 Pictures. The runtime is of 164 minutes.

Plot Summary

In Laal Singh Chaddha, we meet Laal, born with a crooked spine who needs external support to walk. Others around him didn’t consider him smart enough. But his mother always reminded him that he’s just like everyone and can do anything he wants. Laal befriends Rupa as a kid and falls in love with her.

Laal’s love story is quite complicated and his life has many interesting and emotional adventures. From making new friends to fighting for the nation and losing loved ones, Laal goes through the ebbs and flows of life.

Laal Singh Chaddha Review: Discussion

Laal Singh Chaddha has a long disclaimer which Atul Kulkarni reads in Hindi. It looks like a conscious measure, considering how the hate brigade is ready to attack the movie and the stars for no reason. After the long disclaimer, Aamir has thanked a lot of people. We have to wait at least 10 minutes till the movie actually starts.

The opening scene of the feather making its way to adult Laal inside the train is beautiful. Khan shows the excitement in Laal’s eyes to tell his story to co-passengers. Laal takes us back to his childhood days and narrates every chapter of his life with great interest and innocence.

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The scenes between young Laal and Rupa leave us with a big smile. There’s love, jealousy and big dreams when they are young adults. While Aamir plays his part well as Laal, Kareena wins us every time she appears on the screen as Rupa. The duo have amazing chemistry that makes us root for Laal and Rupa.

Every chapter is packed with heartwarming or heartbreaking elements. The first half is slow-paced until Laal meets Bala (Naga Chaitanya) during the army training. It is the most thrilling yet agonising chapter of Laal’s life. This chapter changes Laal’s life drastically, which makes the second half more solid and high on emotions.

In the second half, Laal has experienced the kicks of life, pain, heartbreak and loss. A person like him can’t explain his intricate emotions. But he always finds a way to deal with them. That’s when we see him running all across India, covering some beautiful places.

Atul Kulkarni has made a bold decision to remake a movie that’s loved by millions and is considered one of the Hollywood classics. Hanks starrer captured America’s history and main events to base Forrest’s story. Similarly, Atul’s story starts in the 70s, continues till the 2000s and has many prominent historical events and incidents in India.

While watching the movie, one can sense that the makers truly want to warm our hearts and evoke emotions with an uplifting and sorrowful story. That doesn’t always happen in the first half. After the interval, the story becomes intriguing and spirited.

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Laal Singh Chaddha Review: Music and Performances

The story of Laal Singh Chaddha wouldn’t have been comforting and emotionally stirring without its background music and the songs. For the past few months, hardly any movie has given us a great album. While watching the movie, I was humming the songs when they played in the movie. I missed doing that in Hindi movies nowadays.

A lot of movies add random songs, or the placement is forceful. But in Khan’s movie, the right song strikes at the right moment. While Kahaani is a sweet melody, Arijit’s Phir Na Aisi Raat Aayegi and Tere Hawaale (also sung by Shilpa Rao) create the most impact. The music of Laal Singh Chaddha is a treat to my ears.

Aamir Khan has shot the movie in many places like Delhi, Kerala, Ladakh, Rajasthan, Punjab and many more. Cinematographer Satyajit Pande brilliantly captures the beauty of these exceptionally breathtaking places. Pande’s camera pans s ineamlessly, even in the opening feature scene. He didn’t shy away from zooming in and focusing on Aamir and Kareena’s faces. It helped us look closer into their eyes during moments of joy and sorrow.

Aamir Khan has several scenes where he impresses us with his performance as Laal Singh Chaddha. However, at times, he kept his eyes too wide, giving the character a robotic feeling. Kareena Kapoor Khan is the star of the movie. She understood the assignment and makes us fall in love with Rupa. Her character is the most complicated one in the story. Kareena nails every emotion, every scene and every dialogue.

Naga Chaitanya has a crucial role to play as Bala. However, the actor appeared caricaturish in several scenes. Mona Singh, Laal’s mother, is a ray of positive hope. Singh is a wonderful actor and plays her part well.

Laal Singh Chaddha Review: Final Thoughts

Overall, Laal Singh Chaddha is an endearing story of life, love and loss. It’s a bit slow and lengthy. The music, dialogues and performances are phenomenal. A special appearance by an actor will leave his fans teary-eyed.

The movie has a striking resemblance to Forrest Gump in several scenes. But the Indian version deserves one watch on the big screen.

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