Laal Singh Chaddha - 2022

Laal Singh Chaddha is a 2022 Indian romantic comedy-drama film directed by Advait Chandan. It is a remake of the 1994 American film Forrest Gump and was produced under Aamir Khan Productions, Viacom18 Studios, and Paramount Pictures. 

The movie shows the extraordinary journey of an ordinary man, Laal Singh Chaddha, spanning several decades. It received mixed reviews from critics but was a box office failure. 

Table of Content

·         Details

·         Story

·         Release

·         Reviews and Ratings

·         Cast

·         Crew

·         Character Analysis

·         Songs

·         Controversy

Behind The Scenes

·         Box Office Collection

·         Awards

·         Interesting Facts

·         Conclusion

PlayIn 2014, Laal Singh Chaddha (Aamir Khan) shares his story with strangers while on a train to Chandigarh. As a young boy, Laal had to wear leg braces to correct his curved spine. With an IQ of 75, Laal lives in Punjab with his fierce mother (Mona Singh), who encourages him not to let his disability define him. He has only one friend in school named Rupa (Kareena Kapoor). A series of events take place in his childhood, from realising he is a fast learner to meeting a young Shah Rukh Khan and teaching him dance steps. Laal and Rupa grow closer as Rupa comes to stay with her grandmother. 

Eventually, the two go to the same college, and Laal falls in love with Rupa. But fate has other plans as Rupa leaves for Mumbai to pursue her dream of becoming an actress, and Laal joins the Indian army. Laal befriends Bala, and the two decide to start an undergarment business together after leaving the army. During the Kargil war, Bala dies, and Laal receives a medal for saving five soldiers. 

After leaving the army, Laal meets Rupa again, who has become a mistress of a gangster. She rejects Laal after he confesses his love for her. Soon after, Laal meets Mohammed Paaji, a Pakistani commander he saved during the Kargil war. The two become friends and start an underwear business together. The business starts doing well when Laal renames it after Rupa. Laal gives half his revenue to Bala’s family. 

Laal’s mother dies due to cancer. Later, Rupa joins him as he looks after his mother’s lands, and the two confess their feelings. Without Laal knowing, Rupa is arrested the next day for her connections to the gangsters, leaving Laal devastated and wondering where she went. He starts running for no specific reason and spends the next four years running around the country. And just like he began, he stops running one day and returns home. 

On returning home, he finds Rupa’s countless letters and travels to Chandigarh to reunite with her. The movie returns to the present as Laal reaches Chandigarh and reunites with Rupa and his son, Aman. It ends with Rupa dying from some disease and Laal taking Aman to the same school he attended. 

Laal Singh Chaddha was released on 11 August 2022 on 3,500 screens. It was released on Netflix on 5 October 2022. It was in the top 10 list of 13 countries within a week of its release on Netflix. The film was distributed by Viacom18 Studios, Red Giant Movies, and Geetha Arts domestically. Paramount Pictures distributed the film internationally. 

IMDb Rating: 5.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 91% Audience Score and 65% Tomatometer

Laal Singh Chaddha is quite similar to Forrest Gump but Indianised enough to impress the Indian audience. On the surface, it is a heartwarming and poignant tale of a man and his experiences. But when you look deeper, you realise it is so much more. It is a commentary on India’s changing socio-political scenario. It subtly comments on how humanity is above all. The movie received mostly positive reviews from domestic and international critics, praising it for its heartwarming moments, warmth, and compassion. The cast, including Kareena Kapoor, Mona Singh, and Manav Vij, were commended for their performances. Shah Rukh Khan’s cameo was no less than a delight to watch. 

With a star-studded cast, classic source material, and a huge budget, the film could still not perform well at the box office. So what went wrong? One of the biggest criticisms Laal Singh Chaddha received was on Aamir Khan’s inconsistent performance. The other was the slow pace and excessive length of the movie. 

Producer -  Aamir Khan, Jyoti Deshpande, Kiran Rao, Ajit Andhare

Line Producers - Prassanth Kumar Chandran, Armit Chhabra, Navmeet Singh, Nitin Minz

Co-Producer - Srinivas Rao

Executive Producer - Radhika Chaudhari & Sanjeevkumar Nair

Editor  -  Hemanti Sarkar

Music -  Tanuj Tiku (Score) & Pritam (Songs)

Singers - Mohan Kannan, Sonu Nigam, Arijit Singh, Shilpa Rao, Romy, Shadaab Faridi, Altamash Faridi

Cinematography - Satyajit Pande

Laal Singh Chaddha

Laal Singh Chaddha has a low IQ and was born with a curved spine. Despite life dealing him a rough card, he has a certain zest for life and is a do-gooder. He is a quiet child, a simple man, and a brave soldier. He remembers his friends even in death and puts humanity above all. 

Rupa

Rupa is Laal’s love interest and has an intricate character. As a young girl, she is cheerful and dreams of becoming an actress. As a young woman who has seen the world and suffered, she is sad, conflicted, and beautiful. Rupa goes in and out of Laal’s life for several decades until finally uniting with him in the end. 

On 20 July 2022, Aamir Khan Productions released a 3-minute long behind-the-scenes video of Laal Singh Chaddha showing the entire film journey. The caption said the video is a glimpse of their crazy journey to make a film full of love, warmth, bonding, and adventure.

Laal Singh Chaddha faced a lot of controversies. Hindu nationalists started a trend of boycotting Laal Singh Chaddha before its release. The members of Sanatan Rakshak Sena demanded the absolute ban of the film for hurting their religious sentiments. Aamir Khan also received backlash for mocking Hindu deities, referencing his previous release, Pk. Despite Aamir apologising and requesting the audience to watch the movies in the theatre, the film failed to do well. Many film analysts have attributed the poor performance at the box office to this boycott. 

Despite receiving mixed and mostly positive reviews, Laal Singh Chaddha was a box office flop. It garnered a mere ₹11.70 crores on its opening day. It was released on 3,500 screens, which was eventually reduced by 1300 screens after the poor reception on day 1. The lifetime collection of the movie ended at ₹58.73 crores.

Opening Day: ₹11.70 crore

End of Opening Weekend: ₹37.96 crore

End of Week 1: ₹50.98 crore

End of Week 2: ₹56.83 crore

End of Week 3: ₹58.18 crore

Here are a few interesting facts about the movie.

• Laal Singh Chaddha was shot in more than 100 locations.
• Aamir Khan and the production worked to acquire the rights to remake Forest Gump for 8 years.
• Forrest Gump, on which Laal Singh Chaddha is based, is itself an adaptation of a novel called Forrest Gump by Winston Groom. 
• Atul Kulkarni wrote the script of Laal Singh Chaddha more than 10 years before it went into production. 
• Laal Singh Chaddha was the highest-grossing Hindi film at the international box office in 2022. 

Laal Singh Chaddha is a heartwarming tale of an ordinary man as he goes through the motions of life. It is a perfect blend of drama, comedy, romance, and a solid lesson on forgiveness and compassion.