Advait Chandan’s ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ starring Aamir Khan will finally be released in theatres on 11th August after a spate of delays. As you already know, ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ is an official remake of Robert Zemeckis’ Oscar-winning movie ‘Forrest Gump’. For this article, we have compiled a list of the main characters of ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ and precisely what roles they are playing vis-à-vis the parent film ‘Forrest Gump’. (Minor spoilers ahead)
Forrest Gump / Laal Singh Chaddha
No prizes for guessing this one. It’s a well-known fact that Aamir Khan has stepped into the massive shoes of Hollywood actor Tom Hanks, who had eventually won the best actor Oscar for his endearing titular act in ‘Forrest Gump’.
Interestingly, in one of his interviews while promoting ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’, Aamir Khan was initially convinced that his son Junaid was the perfect choice for the lead role after he saw the way he had enacted the lead role in some of the test shots. But the idea was eventually dropped after the film’s writer Atul Kulkarni and bigshot filmmaker Aditya Chopra opined that Aamir Khan himself should do the role because of the film’s scale.
Jenny / Rupa
In the parent film, the role of Forrest Gump’s childhood friend and love interest Jenny was adeptly essayed by the Golden Globe winner and ‘House of Cards’ actress Robin Wright.
And the corresponding role for the Indian adaptation ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ has been played by none other than Aamir Khan’s ‘3 Idiots’ co-star Kareena Kapoor. From the trailer, it seems that the ‘Jab We Met’ actress has picked up the character’s pulse and she is looking beautiful in it. Let’s see how that turns out to be coming Thursday.
Bubba / Bala
In the original film, a character called Benjamin Buford “Bubba” Blue was played by Mykelti Williamson. Forrest Gump became friends with Bubba during an Army training exercise. Both of them were later sent to the Vietnam war. Bubba had some really endearing scenes along with some action-packed sequences with Tom Hanks’ Forrest Gump in the movie.
In ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’, Naga Chaitanya is playing a similar role of an Army officer who is a close friend of Aamir Khan’s character, and the film would mark his Bollywood debut. It would be interesting to see Naga Chaitanya’s on-screen camaraderie with Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha.
Mrs. Gump / Mrs. Chaddha
Sally Field, who portrayed the role of Aunty May in Andrew Garfield’s ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’, had essayed the role of Forrest Gump’s unconditionally loving single mother Mrs. Gump.
Mrs. Gump has become Mrs. Chaddha in ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ and the role has been played by Mona Singh, who first came into the limelight in the popular television series ‘Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin’. Mona Singh had previously acted alongside Aamir Khan and Kareen Kapoor in Rajkumar Hirani’s ‘3 Idiots’. In one of Aamir Khan’s recent interviews, he has confessed that his favourite performance from ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ is that of Mona Singh. So, that should be something to look forward to.
Lieutenant Dan / Mohammad Paaji
In ‘Forrest Gump’, Oscar-nominated actor Gary Sinise had played the supporting yet important role of Lieutenant Dan, Forrest Gump’s platoon leader and later his business partner.
In ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’, the role of the corresponding character Mohammad Paaji has been essayed by Manav Vij, who was last seen in ‘Samrat Prithviraj’ as the main antagonist. Previously, Manav Vij has proved his acting prowess in films like ‘Udta Punjab’ and ‘Andhadhun’.
Young Forrest Gump / Young Laal Singh Chaddha
The younger version of Forrest Gump was played by an actor named Michael Conner Humphreys. While in ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’, the brief yet important role of the differently abled boy and Aamir Khan’s younger version has been enacted by a ten-year-old Kashmiri boy Ahmad Ibn Umar.
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