How failure of ‘Thugs of Hindostan’ forced Aamir Khan to look for the safety net of ‘Forrest Gump’ remake

Any film remake, official or otherwise, comes with its set of trouble. One of the reasons actors and producers often choose to remake films — directors, usually, aren't too kicked with the thought of reinterpreting as much — is that it's a tried and tested story with greater chances of succeeding. This could well be why Aamir Khan opted to remake Forrest Gump (1994) as Laal Singh Chaddha (2022) at such a point in his career. While most look at successful or, dare one say, the great films an actor featured in to gauge their body of work, it’s interesting to see what films failed or the actor left to get an exciting perspective to their oeuvre.

 

The official remake of the multi-Oscar winning 1994 Robert Zemeckis-directed Forrest Gump, Laal Singh Chaddha, is adapted for the Indian screen by actor Atul Kulkarni and directed by Advait Chandan, a long-time associate of Aamir Khan, who previously helmed Secret Superstar (2017). It has been reported that Kulkarni had been nurturing the dream of Indianising Eric Roth's screenplay for over a decade, and Khan, reportedly, had been working on the idea for over 14 years. The film has been in the making for a few years, with the Covid-19 pandemic delaying it further.

 

Much like most Aamir Khan films, Laal Singh Chaddha seems to be perfectly balanced and brilliantly packaged. In other words, everything seems perfect right from the buzz generated by a photograph of Khan's look, he plays a Sikh in the film, to the hint of the film's first song, 'Kahaani', and now the trailer. Although one should know better than to judge a book by its cover, or a film by its trailer, Laal Singh Chaddha is the kind of 'product' where the consumer (read audience) will be guided through the course to proffer the proper reaction at the right time. As expected, Laal Singh Chaddha's trailer has grabbed eyeballs. Unless something drastic happens, the fascination for Hanks' beloved performance, Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor's presence, crowd-pleasing music and what have you, should ensure that the film hits the bullseye at the box office.

 

The safety net offered by the range of Forrest Gump is what probably played a significant role in Khan's decision to remake the film. In the pre-Covid world, 50 plus stars, especially the three Khans — Aamir, Salman and Shah Rukh — and Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar were in a different situation from where they find themselves today. With films such as Dangal (2016) and Secret Superstar, Aamir Khan had come to a space where he was seen as a top-notch box office star. Besides being beyond the number game, he also seemed to be far removed from trying something as experimental as Shah Rukh Khan in Zero (2018). At that point, Khan was looking at playing then Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma in a biopic called Saare Jahan Se Achcha. There were reports that it would be his last film for a while as he was ready to commit to his Rs 1,000-crore magnum opus Mahabharat, which was supposed to be bankrolled by Mukesh Ambani. However, the commercial failure of Thugs of Hindostan (2018) changed everything.

 

Since his breakthrough Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), Aamir Khan has been ahead of the curve. He was amongst the first superstars in his generation; he was famous for doing one film at a time, he refused more films than anyone else and often redefined the paradigm. While Govinda is seen as the leading man who gave comedy the A-list status, Aamir Khan infused comedy more organically for the leading man with films such as Dil Hai Ke Maanta Nahin (1991) and Hum Hai Rahi Pyar Ke (1993). Khan was also among the first in his generation to gain creative veto on films. He supposedly got producer Mukesh Bhatt to replace his brother, Mahesh, and niece, Pooja, as the director and leading lady on Ghulam (1998). He reportedly got Rani Mukherji's voice dubbed in Ghulam when the sound recordist on both Ghulam and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) was the same. The latter went ahead with her 'original' voice. Moreover, it was Aamir Khan's Ghajini (2008) that started the 1980s-esque south Indian cinema-inspired trend in the 2000s that spawned Wanted (2009), Dabangg (2010), Singham (2011), Rowdy Rathore (2012), R…Rajkumar (2013), etc.

 

By 2018, Aamir Khan seemed to be losing touch with the typical filmy film, which explains why he attempted a Thugs of Hindostan. It also gave him a chance to do an out and out comic character but look at how things changed post its debacle. Had Thugs of Hindostan succeeded, Khan might not have tried to change gears. He would have merrily done the Rakesh Sharma biopic, and had Mahabharat not fallen apart, he wouldn't have tried a revival of sorts at 55 by playing the desi Forrest Gump. The film gives him a shot to play the kind of character that he has made his calling card — an ordinary man who emerges a hero by overcoming overwhelming odds and transforms into something extraordinary. Be that as it may, unlike the original, which wasn't burdened by expectations — Tom Hanks was not the global star that he went on to become; the book on which the film was based was barely recalled; and Robert Zemeckis was not the kind of filmmaker whose films would make you sit up, etc — Laal Singh Chaddha seems too designed to be a simple heart-warming tale of the underdog.

 

The post-Covid entertainment world has changed. It will be challenging for the stars in their mid-50s to find space in the new scheme of things. The average viewer today might not accept the same 'goody, goody' Aamir Khan, and it's not like he doesn't get opportunities to reintroduce himself to the current generation; he chooses to walk a different path. He reportedly walked out of the remake of the Tamil thriller Vikram Vedha as he was supposed to have asked for lots of changes in the script to make it a ‘China-friendly’ film.

 

The writer is a film historian and author. Views expressed are personal.

by Gautam Chintamani