Laal Singh Chaddha is a Hindi-based comedy-drama film directed by the director of Secret Superstar, Advait Chandan. This Indian film is a remake of Hollywood’s movie “The Forrest Gump”. The 159-minute film was filmed in more than 100 locations across India.
The central photography of Laal Singh Chadda began in October 2019 and ended in September 2021. It was supposed to be released in 2021 only. The film’s release date varied because of the pandemic and was chosen on August 11, 2022, on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan and Independence Day.
This film is directed by Advait Chandan, while the writer is Atul Kulkarni. The story is given by Eric Roth, who is the original story writer of the movie Forrest Gump. The movie is based on a remake of Forest Gump, an American movie. Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, Jyoti Deshpande, and Ajith Andhare together produced the film.
Cast and Crew
Aamir Khan played the protagonist in the film Laal Singh Chadda, while Kareena Kapoor played the role of Rupa D’Souza. South India’s famous actor, Naga Chaitanya, is Balaraju. Mona Singh is Mrs Chadda, the mother of Laal Singh Chadda.
Manav Vij has played the character of a Pakistani terrorist, who later befriends Laal Singh Chadda. Arun Bali has played the role of an older man who met on the train. Shahrukh Khan has done a cameo in the film as Shahrukh Khan himself. Similarly, Kamini Kaushal has also done a cameo as Kamini.
Plot
The story starts with a feather, which falls at the feet of Lal Singh Chadda. This scene introduces weak legs of Laal. His mother, Mrs Chadda, expects a lot from him and motivates him throughout the film. He always felt different from others due to his weak legs. His mother encouraged him, saying he was no different from others. She tells him not to believe what others are saying.
He admits to attending a school where every student teases him. Irrespective of Rupa D’Souza, a girl who was his first friend in school. The story moves forward with the friendship of Laal Singh Chadda and Rupa D’Souza. The story shows how one day, a group of students were bullying Lal Singh Chadda.
When Rupa D’Souza is with Laal, she advises him to run and save himself. Due to his weak legs, he could not run. Rupa encourages him, and he starts running. Slowly, the parts of the braces started breaking, and Laal realised he could run. On the same day, he decides to be no different from others.
The story raises awareness about the domestic abuse that Rupa’s mother was going through. Rupa’s father always used to beat her mother. Rupa, a young girl, could not bear the pain and prayed to God to make her rich so that she and her mother would not have to tolerate the abuse by his father.
The domestic abuse ended when Rupa’s father beat his wife one day, and she died. Cops arrest Rupa’s father. Rupa, who does not have parents, was sent to her grandmother. Rupa’s grandmother used to work at lal’s house. Lal was happy, as he could live with Rupa forever.
Lal’s mother sends Laal and Rupa to Hindu College in Delhi to pursue their higher studies. In university, Laal participates in sports, while Rupa is interested in modelling. Rupa said it was the only profession where she could earn money quickly. Lal Moves into his sports and joins the army. On the other hand, Rupa went to Mumbai to be an actress.
In the army, Laal meets Balaraju, who becomes his good friend. Balaraju’s family was into the business of undergarments. He also advises Laal to open a factory in the same business and leave the army. He also invites him to be his business partner. Balaraju and Laal were in the same battalion in 1999. During the war between India and Pakistan, Balaraju and Laal confronted the enemy.
Balaraju loses his life during the war. Laal could not save him, but he saved the other five soldiers. Due to this courageous act, he was awarded by the Indian government. In the different part of the story, Rupa, who wanted to be rich earlier, was taking shortcuts. These shortcuts land her in trouble. She unintentionally becomes the leader of an illegal gang.
Laal starts an innerwear business. They named the business after Rupa. When Laal’s mother dies, he has to take care of the farming. Rupa was sent to prison for six months. After the suggestion of Rupa, Laal started running with his weak legs. He ran from one corner of the country to another, including the Himalayas, Kanyakumari, deserts, etc. He covered every inch of the country.
Suddenly, one day Laal leave running and wants to go back to his home. After reaching home, he finds the letters Rupa. He learned that Rupa was residing in Chandigarh with a kid named Aman. Laal was the father of Aman. He decides to marry Rupa, but Rupa is suffering from a disease, and she doesn’t have much time left. Before marrying Rupa, she dies, and Laal lives with Aman. He used to drop Aman; likewise, his mother used to drop and encourage him.
Movie Review
The movie, Laal Singh Chadda, starts with a feather. The first four minutes are the scene where the feather travels from the railway station and many other areas to the feet of Laal. Throughout the scene, a background voice is added of Laal Singh Chaddha, aka Aamir Khan, to create a critical foundation for the movie. Feather Falls at the Feet of Laal, which helps in the introduction of Laal Singh Chadda.
Mona Singh has played the role of his mother, Mrs Chadda. She expects a lot from him and motivates him throughout the whole film. The way Mona Singh delivers her dialogue and tries to make Laal independent is praiseworthy. In a scene, she even drove a tractor. These scenes show the heroic moments of Mona Singh.
He always felt different from others due to his weak legs. His mother encourages him, saying that he is no different from others. She told him not to believe what others were saying. The story moves forward slowly. The slow screenplay makes the movie a little monotonous. The dialogue writer tries to add humour through some dialogues to balance the movie.
He goes to a school where Laal meets Rupa. Rupa D’Souza is another protagonist in the movie. She became his first friend in school. The story moves forward with the friendship of Laal Singh Chadda and Rupa D’Souza, with a song by popular singer Sonu Nigam, “Mai ki karaan”.
The story tries to raise awareness about the domestic abuse that Rupa’s mother was going through. Rupa’s father always used to beat her mother. Rupa, a young girl, could not bear the pain and prayed to God to make her rich so that she and her mother would not have to tolerate the abuse.
The movie covers some real incidents. Such as the attack on the Golden Temple, the conflict between Hindus and Sikhs, the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the demolition of Babri Masjid. During all the riots, Mrs Chaddha stops Laal from going out and calls it a spread of malaria.
Laal meets Balaraju, a supporting character who meets Laal during the army. His family was in the business of undergarments. His way of delivering the dialogue makes the scene funnier.
The only thing missing from the movie was emotions. The director attempted to add an emotional touch to some of the scenes, but the acting of the laal could not match the scene’s intent. But, overall, the film was good.
Release date: August 11, 2022
IMDb rating: 5/10
