DDespite big claims and promises, Aamir Khan’s Lal Singh Chaddha Nothing turned out to be more than another Bollywood film. Its producers had stated that it was going to be an official adaptation of the Academy Award winning American film. Forrest Gump In which Tom Hanks was in the role of Aamir. But it seems like it was a risky job for an Indian filmmaker. And he didn’t take that risk. In the end, the Hindi remake becomes a “non-controversial, innocent and decent” venture.
Here are six key points of difference Forrest Gump And its Indian remake:
Gaze: Forrest Gump Sees America from Whitman’s perspective. It depicts the itinerary of a white Caucasian man, Forrest Gump. At the same time, it captures the journey of that country. During these two parallel and shared journeys, the burden of painful and embarrassing moments in country life is also shared by Robert Zemeckis’ film. After all, the protagonist is White, played by Tom Hanks. It’s mainstream. When America loses in the Vietnam War or when the country is witnessing racism and segregation, or when American youth are drowning in drugs, the Forrest Gump character is shown sharing collective responsibility as an American.
main character of Lal Singh Chaddha One is Sikh, a minority community in India. The lead actress is a Christian. These two castings are important. The story is bound to change once the protagonist is cast as a Sikh or a Christian. A Sikh youth and a Christian girl are easily discussing that ‘Lal’ is leading Lal Krishna Advani’s Rath Yatra! Minimizes the seriousness of the issue. Chadha’s association with the national events of contemporary India comes to the fore only when his own community is directly affected – the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the subsequent 1984 anti-Sikh riots. producer of Lal Singh Chaddha Set boundaries for the film by not choosing the main character from the majority Hindu community. It shifts the gaze compared to the original.
Stand on Indian Culture: school principal Forrest Gump Has a complex and evil character. she wants sex from GumpMother in return for getting her son enrolled in school. The child may or may not be aware of the magnitude of the event. He is a reluctant or passive beneficiary of the deal, but is also annoyed by it. This is one of the defining moments of the film.
On the other hand, the principal in the film Lal Singh Chaddha Has been shown to be very kind. As soon as Lal’s mother tells him that she will cook for him and clean the house too, the principal agrees to accept her son but does not allow him to do the household chores. This whole entry affair in an Aamir Khan film gets a simple, simple treatment. This makes a significant difference from the American origins Lal Singh Chaddha A weak film. It was not possible for Indian filmmakers to muster up the courage and portray a Teacher (teacher) As a sexual predator.
Nationalism and War: Forrest Gump It also tells the story of America’s greatest embarrassment. The film depicts Gump fighting in the Vietnam War. A war that saw the defeat of a superpower. The film does not hesitate to show the corpses of American soldiers and piles of blood. The anti-war movement is clearly depicted in the film and Forrest Gump and his wife Jenny are shown participating in anti-war demonstrations.
producer of Lal Singh Chaddha One option was to show the failed Indian Peacekeeping Mission (IPKF) in Sri Lanka – a dark chapter in India’s independent history. But he decided to show the Kargil War, in which the Indian Army drove out Pakistani infiltrators. did the filmmakers decide to take the story Lal Singh Chaddha Further back, they could show the 1962 Indo-China war, another low point in Indian history. But these wars or campaigns had no pride for India or Indians. recreate something like this Forrest Gump Must have been a difficult task in India.
Racism not North-South divide: Forrest Gump America faces another major embarrassment – racism. In the process, it brings to the fore the humiliating past and, to a lesser extent of the present, of white people. Gump’s family is shown to have links with one of the founders of the Ku Klux Klan, America’s most notoriously racist organization. It is shown in the film when black students were first mocked by white students at the University of Alabama. It also explains how black youth were prepared to fight in the Vietnam War. The story of racism is told primarily through Gump’s black friend Buford Bubba.
Lal Singh Chaddha Birth Based Discrimination – tells the story of India without touching the Indian model of casteism. Chaddha belongs to an upper caste Sikh family. Caste did not harm him in any way. He studied at Delhi University during the days of the anti-Mandal Commission movement, but this incident did not affect Chadha’s life. The film stars Bala, a South Indian, playing the role of Bubba’s counterpart. But it is absurd to compare blacks with South Indians. Lal Singh Chaddha Thus, it gives up talking about one of the most atrocious features of Indian social life.
Obvious Enemies: Forrest Gump Clearly not a negative character. Two characters who also have some negative traits are Gump’s elementary school principal and US Army Lieutenant Dan. Both are white. None of the villains featured prominently among the Vietnamese with whom the US military is at war.
but in Lal Singh Chaddha The leader of the infiltrators in Kargil was to be a Muslim. She and her fellow terrorists are shown Dixit in the terror module after hearing the story of the ’72 virgins in heaven’. His life is saved by Lal and he goes back to Pakistan as a reformed man. thus, Lal Singh Chaddha Joins hundreds of Indian films in search of enemies across the border. Abu Salem, Monica Bedi, Dawood Ibrahim, Ajmal Kasab, all are in Advit Chandan’s film. But there is no villain in the film in the aftermath of the temple movement riots.
Read also: Aamir Khan was the OG Method Actor. The problem started when he turned to comedy
Female Lead Contrast: Forrest Gump’s girlfriend Jenny pursues a mirage for the rest of her life. His life is rudderless and ruined. She spends time with her abusive boyfriend who is also the leader of the New Left student movement. She becomes involved in drugs, hippie culture, unbridled sex, and catches a viral disease, probably AIDS. She participates in anti-war demonstrations. This is the story of an entire rebel generation in America. The film also tells about the abuse (probably sexual) that Jenny faces by her father.
opposite of this, Lal Singh ChaddhaThe heroine of the film is a woman running after success and money. She becomes a victim of exploitation, suffers a lot and eventually returns to Chadha’s rural cultured life to marry him. She is no rebel like Jenny. She hooks up with a guy in college just because he is very rich. All he needs is success and money. Roopa’s father Lal Singh Chaddha There is a cruel husband but the film remains silent on the conversation between father and daughter – thus protecting the sanctity of the daughter-father relationship. This is the limit of Bollywood film making.
Dilip Mandal is the former managing editor of India Today Hindi magazine, and has written books on media and sociology. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Anurag Choubey)