R ARIVANANTHAM
Director Advait Chandan’s ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’, a remake of the Hollywood superhit ‘Forrest Gump’, made for pan India audience in regional languages, including Tamil, has won over many a hearts for its soul-searching story, and portrayal of characters by the actors.
Jointly produced by Aamir Khan Productions & Viacom18 Studios, Tamil version is being released by Red Giant Movies of Udhayanidhi Stalin.
Director Advait Chandan has been successfully able to adapt the narrative in a way that will appeal to the regional audience. It is primarily a human story and how different can our conditions, situations and reactions be irrespective of the setting. So in a way, Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Naga Chaitanya starrer is same, same, but different. For instance, the protagonist’s mother (played by Mona Singh) attempts to get her child admitted in a school.
- Mona Singh as Aamir Khan’s on-screen mother is the heart and soul of this Advait Chandan directorial.
- This situation of school admission in the Tamil version of the film has been very differently treated as compared to the original, showcasing the filmmaker’s understanding of our instincts and emotions
This situation in the Tamil version of the film has been very differently treated as compared to the original, showcasing the filmmaker’s understanding of our instincts and emotions. They have got that right throughout the film. Though what doesn’t appeal to the audience is how, many scenes especially in the first half have been shot just like the original. May be, Advait and cinematographer Satyajit Pande could have executed those scenes differently to help the audience forget the 1994 film, and relish the new version. However, the visuals are eye-catching.
Story
Much like ‘Forrest Gump, Laal Singh Chaddha’s’ personal journey also goes through several socio and political situations, including the Emergency, riots, bomb blasts, political rallies, massive paegent wins, blockbusters, chartbusters, and even bold photoshoots, but at heart it remains his own voyage of acceptance, self discovery, and destiny that every common man will be able to relate with.
The first half of this Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Naga Chaitanya film is crisp with periodical high points and lots of humour.
‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ stays true to the setting of every phase it showcases in the film, and all credit for it goes to production designers Imran Manzoor and Mustafa Stationwala, and art directors Bilal Hashmi and Pravin S Kadam, Costume designer Maxima Basu has done a lot of research to bring alive bygone era fashion. Tanuj Tiku’s background score helps to elevate the scenes.
Supperstar Aamir Khan aces as Laal Singh Chaddha. He really lives the part, and that evidently comes across in the movie. Though a certain unintentional habit of his character becomes too repetitive after a while. Kareena Kapoor Khan as Rupa is phenomenal. Probably it’s only her and Manav Vij’s character Mohammad that has several layers of emotions, which both of them have portrayed effortlessly. Naga Chaitanya who plays Bala is outstanding in the funny scenes. Mona Singh as Aamir Khan’s on-screen mother is the heart and soul of this Advait Chandan directorial. Shah Rukh Khan’s cameo is the most endearing part of the film, probably the biggest highlight too.
Sometimes what we seek is right there, we just need to look harder and stop complicating things. That’s one of the most important messages that ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ conveys, among several other statements that it makes through its narrative.
The cast include Aamir Khan (Laal Singh Chaddha), Kareena Kapoor (Rupa), Naga Chaitanya (Balaraju “Bala” Bodi), Mona Singh (Chaddha, Laal Singh Chaddha’s mother), Ahmad Ibn Umar (Young Laal) and Manav Vij (Mohammad Paaji).
Writer: Atul Kulkarni, Cinematography: Satyajit Pande (Setu), Editor: Hemanti Sarkar, Music: Pritam, Background Score: Tanuj Tiku, Tamil Lyrisist : Muthamil and PRO: P Sri Venkatesh.
