Laal Singh Chaddha

The film is jointly produced by Paramount Pictures, Aamir Khan Productions and Viacom18 Studios. It is a remake of the 1994 American film Forrest Gump which itself is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film stars Aamir Khan as the title character alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan, Naga Chaitanya and Mona Singh.

The adaptation of Forrest Gump underwent a series of changes over a period of two decades, with Kulkarni spending the first ten years adapting the script, and another ten years purchasing the remake rights. Aamir Khan bought the rights of the film in early 2018 with the help of Los Angeles-based producer and director Radhika Chaudhari and announced the film officially on 14 March 2019, with its title. The film’s score is by Tanuj Tiku, while its original songs are composed by Pritam and their lyrics are written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.

Laal Singh Chaddha has been filmed in more than 100 Indian locations. Principal photography began in October 2019 and concluded in September 2021, after multiple delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was initially scheduled for cinema release during multiple dates in 2020–2022, but kept getting delayed due to the production halt caused by the pandemic, and was theatrically released worldwide on 11 August 2022, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan and Independence Day. It opened to mixed reviews from critics and audience, with praise for its adaptation to the new setting, faithfulness to the source material, depth, soundtrack, background score and emotion, but received criticism for Khan’s performance. Against its ₹1.8 billion budget, the film generated a total revenue of ₹1.29 billion in worldwide box office. It was declared a box office flop in India, though it was successful overseas.Laal Singh Chaddha is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Advait Chandan and written by Atul Kulkarni. The film is jointly produced by Paramount Pictures, Aamir Khan Productions and Viacom18 Studios. It is a remake of the 1994 American film Forrest Gump which itself is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film stars Aamir Khan as the title character alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan, Naga Chaitanya and Mona Singh.

The adaptation of Forrest Gump underwent a series of changes over a period of two decades, with Kulkarni spending the first ten years adapting the script, and another ten years purchasing the remake rights. Aamir Khan bought the rights of the film in early 2018 with the help of Los Angeles-based producer and director Radhika Chaudhari and announced the film officially on 14 March 2019, with its title. The film’s score is by Tanuj Tiku, while its original songs are composed by Pritam and their lyrics are written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.

Laal Singh Chaddha has been filmed in more than 100 Indian locations. Principal photography began in October 2019 and concluded in September 2021, after multiple delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was initially scheduled for cinema release during multiple dates in 2020–2022, but kept getting delayed due to the production halt caused by the pandemic, and was theatrically released worldwide on 11 August 2022, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan and Independence Day. It opened to mixed reviews from critics and audience, with praise for its adaptation to the new setting, faithfulness to the source material, depth, soundtrack, background score and emotion, but received criticism for Khan’s performance. Against its ₹1.8 billion budget, the film generated a total revenue of ₹1.29 billion in worldwide box office. It was declared a box office flop in India, though it was successful overseas.

As a boy in 1977, Laal has an IQ of 75 and is fitted with leg braces to correct a curved spine. He lives in Karoli, Punjab, with his mother, who runs a farm and encourages him to live beyond his disabilities. He meets a girl named Rupa D’Souza on his first day at school, and the two become best friends. One day, a group of bullies starts pelting stones at Laal. When he runs to escape them, his leg braces come off, and he realizes that he is a fast runner. Rupa’s father is arrested by the police as he beat her mother to death. When Rupa’s mother dies, she is sent to live with her maternal grandmother, who used to work at Laal’s house. Laal is happy because now he and Rupa can always be together. When the 1984 anti-Sikh riots begin, Laal and his mother go to stay at his aunt’s place to be safe. There, Laal meets a young Shah Rukh Khan and teaches him dance steps and poses which he would later go on to use in his films.

To save Laal from rioters, Laal’s mother cuts off his long hair and removes his turban, to hide his identity as a Sikh. Laal’s mother sends him and Rupa to Hindu College in Delhi and disguises any terrorist attack to Laal as a Malaria infection. There, Laal witnesses L.K. Advani’s Ram Rath Yatra. Laal takes part in track and field, and wins many prizes, whereas Rupa starts taking part in modeling competitions, as she dreams of becoming a model in Mumbai and becoming rich. Sometime later, Laal joins the army, where he meets Balaraju Bodi aka Bala, who wants to start an undergarment business. They both decide to start an undergarment-manufacturing company together, once they leave the army. Rupa goes to Mumbai to pursue her dreams.

In 1999, the Kargil War breaks out between India and Pakistan. Laal and Bala are in the same battalion. Rupa had told Laal to start running as soon as his life was in danger. When the Pakistani soldiers start to gain an advantage, he runs, but realizes that Bala is left behind. He goes back, but every time he goes back, he finds another soldier who is injured and asks for help. He also saves a Pakistani commander, not knowing he was the enemy. He is unable to save Bala, leaving him heartbroken, but is awarded Vir Chakra by the Indian Government for saving five soldiers.

Rupa never responded to any letters that Laal sent her. She had become the mistress of a gangster who took advantage of her and lied to her about fulfilling her dreams (parallels are made to the controversial relationship of the infamous gangster Abu Salem and Monica Bedi). Laal goes to meet her and sees the gangster slap her; Laal responds angrily by beating him up. Laal says that he loves Rupa, but she tells him that they have no future together and that he should forget her. Laal suddenly sees Mohammed, the Pakistani commander he had saved during the war. He had escaped from the hospital before anyone could know his true identity and has been living alone, and using a wheelchair, ever since. The two strike a friendship and Mohammed loves him for his purity and innocence, also feeling guilty of his violent acts of terrorism.

Laal finally starts the undergarment business, but doesn’t know how to market his product. Then, Mohammed joins the team. Mohammed gives the idea that if the brand is named after a girl, then maybe their sales would increase. Laal knew only one girl, so he renames his company Rupa (a reference to the knitwear company of the same name). The sales start to grow, and soon the company starts selling innerwear to all of India, making Laal and Mohammed successful entrepreneurs. Mohammed invests money in Bombay Stock Exchange, which Laal thinks is “some kind of cowshed” and they become even richer. After a while, Mohammed returns to his country and opens a school for children. Laal gives half his earnings to Bala’s family for having inspired the undergarment business venture. Laal’s mother also passes away from cancer, leaving him alone.

Laal dedicates his time to tending to the land his mother left him. Rupa comes back to stay with him. She reciprocates his feelings and the two make love. Sometime later, the police come and arrest Rupa, as she had links with the underworld, and take her away, without Laal knowing. She is sent to prison for six months. Laal is heartbroken and decides to go running “for no particular reason”. He goes on a cross-country marathon for over four years. People think that he might be running for some great purpose, and the media start covering his journey. His run covers almost every inch of the country. After years of running, he suddenly stops. Many people had started running along with him, thinking that he was running for some great purpose. They ask him why he stopped, expecting a philosophical answer. Laal says that he is tired and that he just wants to go back home.

On reaching home, Laal wears a turban again after many years. He is pleasantly surprised to know that Rupa had written him a lot of letters. He tells his fellow passengers on the train that Rupa had served her sentence and is now living in Chandigarh, and he is going to meet her. Laal reunites with Rupa and finds out that he is the father of her son named Aman. Laal is overwhelmed with emotion and the two get married. The three start living together. Soon, Rupa becomes sick and dies later in 2018 due to a disease. Laal takes care of Aman and takes him to the same school he went to, thinking his life had come full circle.