About a week has passed since the much awaited Advait Chandan's "Laal Singh Chaddha" has hit the screens & by the looks of it, it's unlikely to hang around for much longer. As per box office reports, the movie has been branded as a failure as the world wide collection hovers around the 100 C mark. Due to other commitments, I haven't been able to pen my opinion about it until now. But was it as bad as the numbers says or did the #boycott had an effect as well???
Being a remake, the story as such remains true to "Forrest Gump" with changes incorporated so that it gelled with the Indian history and culture. The movie unfolds with Laal (Aamir Khan) narrating the story of his life experiences to co-passengers in the train en route to meet his childhood sweetheart, Rupa (Kareena Kapoor). Born into a family where his fore fathers had laid down their lives in the service of the country, Laal was slow-witted & required leg braces to aid him in walking. However, his mother (Mona Singh) made sure that he was treated equal to others & instilled confidence in her son to never set limits to his capabilities & aspirations. This belief & the love that he had for Rupa takes him through different experiences and that forms the crux of the movie.
This is Advaith's second directorial venture after "Secret Superstar" & attempting to remake an iconic movie like Robert Zemeckis's "Forrest Gump" is a recipe for disaster. But Atul Kulkarni who had adapted Eric Roth's original screenplay had done a decent job which made Advaith's task much easier. If the original spoke about Vietnam War, John Lennon, Watergate scandal etc., then this touched upon Blue Star Operation, 1984 Sikh riots, 1990 Rathyatra, Kargil War etc. All these events blended well with the narrative though I felt they could have incorporated more. On the technical side, there were indeed a couple of impressive aspects such as Pritam's music & Setu's exquisite frames. However, Hemanti Sarkar's editing ought to have been much better in the second half coz the number of sequences focusing on Laal's longing for Rupa required trimming.
The major flaw in the movie was in the character arc as well as performances of some of the primary artists. It might sound surprising but Aamir's performance left a lot to be desired as it seemed like he had a hangover of "PK", "3 Idiots" & "Dhoom 3". There is no doubt that he comes across likable in certain sequences but I felt that they should have opted for a younger artist as de-ageing him came across as rather odd. On the other hand, Kareena was impressive as her performance and the character arc given was much better than the original. Even Mona Singh has done a fine job while SRK's cameo evoked a smile. At the same time, Naga Chaitanya's performance was mediocre while Manav Vij was fine though I felt his character as such didn't make much sense.
Verdict: Rather than the screenplay, I would say that the movie was hampered by average performances which obviously affected the viewing experience especially when that list included the protagonist. There is no doubt that comparisons will be inevitable & by that yardstick, this will come across as pretty ordinary. But if you are a person who haven't watched the original or would watch it as a standalone movie, then I would say give it a try!!!
Rating: 2.75/5
Regards...Ben
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