Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 2022
Laal Singh Chaddha
Buy Laal Singh Chaddha now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'Laal Singh Chaddha' is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film directed by Advait Chandan from a screenplay by Eric Roth and Atul Kulkarni. Produced by Aamir Khan Productions and Viacom18 Studios, it is a remake of the 1994 American film 'Forrest Gump' which itself is an adaptation of the novel of the same name. The film stars Aamir Khan as the title character alongside Kareena Kapoor, Naga Chaitanya (in his Hindi film debut) and Mona Singh.
The adaptation of 'Forrest Gump' underwent a series of changes over a period of two decades, with Kulkarni spending the first ten years adapting the script, and another ten years purchasing the remake rights. Aamir Khan bought the rights of the film in early 2018 with the help of Los Angeles-based producer and director Radhika Chaudhari and announced the film officially on 14 March 2019, with its title. The film's score is by Tanuj Tiku, while its original songs are composed by Pritam and their lyrics are written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.
'Laal Singh Chaddha' has been filmed in more than 100 Indian locations. Principal photography began in October 2019 and concluded in September 2021, after multiple delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was initially scheduled for cinema release during multiple dates in 20202022, but kept getting delayed due to the production halt caused by the pandemic, and was theatrically released worldwide on 11 August 2022, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan and Independence Day. It opened to mixed reviews from critics. Against its 180 crore budget, the film generated a worldwide revenue of less than 90 crore in its first week and was thus declared a box office bomb.
Plot
Laal was a boy with weak legs, though his mother was supportive and he had a best friend named Rupa Dsouza. One day, a group of bullies started pelting stones at Laal. The stones broke Laal's leg braces into pieces and he realized he could run.
One day, Laal went to visit Rupa and found her sitting outside her house sobbing. Her father was physically abusing her mother. Rupa's mother died, and her father was taken by police. Rupa was sent to live with her grandmother, who used to work at Laals house. Laal was happy, because now he and Rupa were always together.
Laals mother sent him and Rupa to Hindu College in Delhi. At university, Laal took part in track, whereas Rupa started taking part in modeling competitions. Rupa dreamt of becoming a model in Mumbai and becoming rich.
Laal joined the Army, and Rupa went to Mumbai to pursue her dreams. Laal met Balaraju Bodi in the Army, who became his friend. Bala pitched the idea of opening an undergarment factory with Laal once they left the Army, and Laal agreed.
In 1999, India was at war with Pakistan. Laal and Bala were in the same battalion. Rupa had told Laal to start running as soon as his life was in danger. When the Pakistani soldiers had an advantage, he ran, but realized that Bala was left behind. He went back, but every time he went back, he found another soldier who was injured and asking for help. He also saved a Pakistani commander, not knowing he was the enemy. He couldn't save Bala, but was awarded a medal by the Indian Government for saving 5 soldiers.
Rupa never responded to any letters that Laal sent her. She had become the mistress of a gangster who took advantage of her and lied about fulfilling her dreams (parallels are made to the controversial relationship of the infamous gangster Abu Salem and Monica Bedi). Laal went to meet her and saw the gangster slap her; Laal responded by beating him up. Rupa told him that he couldnt keep saving her and that he would have to let her be. Rupa knew that she and Laal loved each other unconditionally, but she wanted to be rich at any cost.
Laal finally opened a business for innerwear but didnt know how to market his product. Then, Mohammed Baaji, the Pakistani commander Laal had saved, joined the team. Mohammed had the idea if the brand was named after a girl, then maybe their sales would increase. Laal knew of only one girl, so he renamed his company Rupa (a reference to the knitwear company). The sales started to grow, and soon the company was selling underwear to all of India. After a while, Mohammed decided to go back to his country and open a school. Laals mother also passed away, leaving him alone.
Laal dedicated his time to tending to the land his mother left him. Rupa visited him one day, but quickly the police came searching for her as she had links to the gangster. She was sent to prison for six months without telling Laal. This sparked negative emotions for Laal which he struggled to manage, so he started running to try to escape them.
Other people thought he might be running for some great purpose, and the media started covering his journey. His run covered almost every inch of the country. After months of running, he suddenly stopped. People had started running with him. They asked him why he stopped, expecting a philosophical answer. Laal said that he was tired and that he wanted to go back home.
When Laal reached home, he was pleasantly surprised to know that Rupa had written him a lot of letters. She had served her sentence and was now living in Chandigarh. Laal met Rupa and found out that she had a kid named Aman and that he was the father. Laal was overjoyed. Rupa was suffering from a terminal illness. Laal decided to marry her. After Rupa's death, Laal took Aman to the same school that he had gone to, feeling that his life had come full circle.
Cast
* Aamir Khan as Laal Singh Chaddha
**Ahmad Ibn Umar as young Laal
* Kareena Kapoor as Rupa D'Souza, Laal's love interest and future wife
**Hafsa Ashraf as young Rupa
* Naga Chaitanya as Balaraju "Bala" Bodi, Laal's colleague in the Indian Army and his good friend
* Mona Singh as Mrs. Chaddha, Laal's mother
* Manav Vij as Muhammad, a Pakistan Army Commander who befriends Laal and is known as Muhammad Paji
* Aaryaa Sharma as the woman passenger sitting in-front of Laal in the train
* Arun Bali as Old Sikh Man in train
* Jagat Rawat as Father of school
* Shah Rukh Khan as himself (cameo appearance)
*Kamini Kaushal (cameo appearance) as the Old Sikh Woman sitting with the Old Sikh Man in the train
Production
Development
In August 2018, Khan announced that he had purchased the remake rights of the 1994 American drama 'Forrest Gump', from Paramount Pictures, which produced the film, and also suggested he will play the lead role in this film. On 14 March 2019, coinciding with his 54th birthday, Khan officially announced the project which has been named 'Laal Singh Chaddha', with his ex-wife Kiran Rao co-producing the film. Advait Chandan, who previously directed Khan's 'Secret Superstar' (2017), was signed in to direct the remake.Kulkarni, who also worked with Khan in 'Rang De Basanti' (2006), wrote the Hindi adaptation for the original. In an interview with Bollywood Hungama, Kulkarni said, "I wrote the script ten years ago, but Aamir took a couple of years because he did not believe that I must have written a good script. So he did not want to hurt me. After a few years, he heard the script and within 30 seconds he said I am going to do the film." Kulkarni also said that it took over seven years to get the remake rights from the makers of the original (Paramount), as the movie is solely based on the original. Once the studio confirmed with Radhika Chaudhari that the rights were available, Khan made a trip to Los Angeles in February 2018 and met with the studio heads along with Radhika Chaudhari and the process of acquisition started.
Casting
Mukesh Chhabra was assigned as the casting director of the film.Aamir Khan playing the title character, Kareena Kapoor was confirmed to play the female lead role in June 2019, thus pairing up with Khan for the third time after '3 Idiots' (2009) and 'Talaash: The Answer Lies Within' (2012). Manushi Chhillar was first choice for leading lady but, already signed a contract with Yash Raj Films. In August 2019, Vijay Sethupathi was signed alongside Khan, however he later opted out due to other commitments. In September 2019, Yogi Babu was approached to play a pivotal role. In November 2019, Mona Singh who also starred in Khan's '3 Idiots', was also cast in the pivotal role. Aamir Khan lost 20 kilograms for the younger version of his role in the film. In May 2021, Naga Chaitanya was confirmed to be a part of the cast, making his Bollywood debut.
Filming
While the film's principal photography was expected to commence in October 2019, Khan and his team went on scouting location in April 2019, across Dharmasala for five days.'Laal Singh Chaddha' is reportedly filmed in more than 100 Indian locations. The principal photography of the film was commenced on 31 October 2019, with a muhurat shot given by Khan's mother Zeenat Hussain. The first schedule took place at Chandigarh, on 1 November and was completed within 21 days. Stills featuring Khan and Kapoor from the sets were leaked onto the internet, with Khan's look featuring him with a thick beard and turban went viral. A romantic track featuring Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor was shot at Chandigarh on 28 November 2019.
The second schedule was kickstarted in Kolkata on 5 December 2019.[https://www.news18.com/photogallery/movies/aamir-khan-shoots-for-laal-singh-chaddha-in-kolkata-2420065-1.html Aamir Khan Shoots For Laal Singh Chaddha in Kolkata; See Pics Photogallery]. News18.com. Retrieved on 27 February 2020. Aamir Khan and his team flew to Kerala in the second week of December, where Khan's photos of shooting from Thekkumbhagam, Changanassery and Kappil went viral. Khan completed the second schedule on 19 December 2019, and kickstarted the third schedule on 21 December 2019, with shooting took place in Jaisalmer, Goa and Himachal Pradesh. The third schedule was completed on 12 February 2020, and Khan headed to Chandigarh for their next schedule. The team wrapped up the last leg of shoot on 6 March 2020. The cast and crew flew back to shoot in Punjab on 16 March 2020, before production of the film got halted owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in India.
Aamir Khan cancelled the Ladakh schedule on 6 July, owing to the India-China standoff along the Galwan Valley. Later due to difficulties in shooting the film across India, Aamir decided to resume the film's shoot in Turkey, for the recce of new shoot. On 7 September 2020, Aamir Khan resumed the shooting of the film in Mumbai, with safety measures and guidelines instructed by the government. On 27 September 2020, Aamir and his team flew to Delhi to shoot some portions, with pictures featuring his younger version went viral. Some scenes were shot at the Hotel Centaur in Delhi on 7 October 2020. Kareena Kapoor wrapped up her portions on 15 October 2020.
Khan suffered a rib injury while shooting an action sequence, but ensuring that there is no delay in the shoot, the actor took a few pain killers to and tried to subside his injury for the time being and continued working as he knew that there were special arrangements made for the shooting schedule. Earlier, while shooting for an important running sequence, Aamir Khan had suffered extreme physical exertion due to constant running. The actor shot few sequences at a sports complex located at Noida on 28 October 2020.
In July 2021, Aamir Khan and his team flew to Ladakh, where they spent some one month and shot war sequences. After wrapping up the Ladakh schedule the team reached to Srinagar in the first week of August. In Srinagar, the shooting of the film was carried out at various places, some important sequences were shot at Delhi Public School Srinagar (DPS), Amar Singh College and Boulevard Road near Dal Lake. During shooting in the premises of DPS, a 12-year-old, visually impaired student Zainab Bilal aka RJ Zainab has interviewed Aamir Khan for the school's in-house radio station, Radio DPS. Chaitanya joined the production in July 2021 and completed shooting his portions by August 2021.
Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Prakash Vaghasiya were seen resuming the shoot of the film in Mumbai on 13 September. After wrapping up portions together last year, the two of them reunited for patchwork shoot in Andheri. The film was wrapped up on 16 September 2021.
Marketing
The trailer for the film was launched at the final of the 2022 Indian Premier League on 29 May.Music
The film score is composed by Tanuj Tiku while the original songs featured in the film are composed by Pritam, in his third collaboration with Aamir Khan after 'Dhoom 3' (2013) and 'Dangal' (2016), and lyrics for the songs are written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.
The music sitting discussion was held at Khan's Panchgani House in August 2019, with composer Pritam and lyricist Bhattacharya, working on the film's music. The title track of 'Laal Singh Chaddha', which featured in the motion poster, was recorded by Mohan Kannan of the Agnee band in January 2020. The singer didn't initially know that he was singing for Aamir's film, who "loved" the song, a studio recording person told him. He mentioned in the article that lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya has written a "gold" song and has beautifully "encapsulated the whole story". Sonu Nigam on his official YouTube page on 13 January 2022 mentioned that he just completed a recording of a "very beautiful" and "wonderfully written" song that took about 5 hours to record. The first song of the film 'Kahani' was released on 28 April 2022. Sonu Nigam's song, 'Main Ki Karaan,' was released on 12 May 2022. A song sung by Arijit Singh, 'Phir Na Aisi Raat Aayegi,' released on 24 June 2022. The fourth song 'Tur Kalleyan' took more than 6 weeks of shoot and was shot at multiple locations across India. The song was released on 15 July 2022. A second version of 'Kahani,' sung by Sonu Nigam was released on 18 July 2022. 'Tere Hawaale,' a duet sung by Arijit Singh and Shilpa Rao, was released on 4 August 2022.
The songs 'Kahani' and 'Tur Kalleyan' had been re-recorded in both Tamil and Telugu languages prior to the release of the movie in both languages respectively. The Tamil lyrics have been penned by Muthamil and the Telugu lyrics by Bhaskarabhatla.
Music reception
'Pinkvilla' reviewing the track "Kahani" stated that "The 2-minute song takes you inside the world of Laal Singh Chaddha which is innocent, heartwarming, and all about creating beautiful memories." 'The Indian Express' stated that "The mood and flavours of Laal Singh Chaddha are beautifully packed in its latest song "Kahani". 'Hindustan Times' reviewing the track "Tur Kalleyan" stated that "The song captures the beauty of rising above everything else and walking alone."Release
Theatrical
'Laal Singh Chaddha' released on 11 August 2022 alongside dubbed versions in Tamil and Telugu languages. Earlier, it was announced to release on 25 December 2020, coinciding with Christmas. However, due to production halt owing to COVID-19 pandemic in India, the release was delayed by a year to 24 December 2021, aiming for the Christmas weekend. It was later rescheduled to release on 11 February and then 14 April 2022, however, it was postponed. The Motion Picture Association gave the film a PG-13 rating for "some violent content, thematic elements and suggestive material."Distribution
The film was distributed in India by Viacom18 Studios, while the international distribution of the film, through Paramount Pictures. The Telugu rights for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana region of the film were acquired by Geetha Arts. The Tamil Nadu theatrical rights are acquired by Red Giant Movies.Streaming
The digital distribution rights were acquired initially by Netflix at a cost of 150 crore. However, after the catastrophic performance of the film, Netflix canceled the deal. Netflix had initially offered a figure of around 8090 crore. Netflix finally offered a deal at 50 crore but even that was cancelled after the debacle of the film at the box-office.Reception
Critical response
India
'Laal Singh Chaddha' received mixed reviews from critics. Devesh Sharma of 'Filmfare' rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote "Atul and Advait have invested more in the story than history. As a result, this has a better emotional core than the original". Sonil Dedhia of 'News 18' rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote "Aamir Khan's 'Laal Singh Chaddha' is a movie that deftly grapples with the pessimism of the world, but handled in a mature way". Renuka Vyavahare of 'The Times Of India' rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "LSC holds onto the good old values that make it worthy of a family outing. You will particularly remember a crackling 'Shah Rukh Khan' cameo". Stutee Ghosh of 'The Quint' rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "'Laal Singh Chaddha' is made up of many memorable, heartwarming moments. It says a lot that will leave us smiling or moist eyed". Sukanya Verma of 'Rediff' rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "'Laal Singh Chaddha' does not let its source down. And replacing a box of chocolates with a ready-to-eat gol gappe kit is geeeenius, like Laal's Ustad would say". Sanchita Jhunjhunwala of 'Zoom' rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "The movie leaves you teary eyed, even though it doesn't make you cry, and that, we feel, makes it a job well done by the entire team!". Avinash Lohana of 'Pinkvilla' rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Aamir Khan and his team manage to live up to the original and present an entertaining watch". Nairita Mukherjee of 'India Today' rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "For the most part, director Advait Chandan's 'Laal Singh Chaddha' remains faithful to the original material".
Nandini Ramnath of 'Scroll.in' rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Except for a few crucial changes, the film is faithful to the beats of its source material".
Rohit Bhatnagar of 'The Free Press Journal' rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "The film is a bit too lengthy but Shah Rukh Khans cameo will make it up for you". Sushri Sahu of 'Mashable' rated he film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Laal Singh Chaddha deserves a watch for its special cameo alone". Mugdha Kapoor of 'DNA India' rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "'Laal Singh Chaddha' has made a valiant effort to deliver a message of forgiveness, optimism and compassion". Saibal Chatterjee of 'NDTV' rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "A de-aged Aamir Khan throws all that he has into the role and comes up with a simpleton who is wondrously loveable". Anna M. M. Vetticad of 'Firstpost' rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "'Laal Singh Chaddha' must stand on its own sans comparisons since it is being viewed in 2022 by a whole generation of viewers to whom Forrest Gump is not a cultural reference that evokes nostalgia". Shubhra Gupta of 'The Indian Express' rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote "Its not just the pace of the film which is the trouble. It is also, centrally and crucially, Sardar Laal Singh Chaddha himself, as played by Aamir Khan". A critic for 'Bollywood Hungama' rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote "Despite fine performances and lovely moments the excessive length and slow pacing goes against 'Laal Singh Chaddha'"
International
Laal Singh Chaddha received mixed to positive reviews from International critics. Proma Khosla of 'Indie Wire' rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Kulkarni and Chandan deserve a whole box of gol gappe". Mike McCahill of 'The Guardian' rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Director Advait Chandan is too literal in his adaptation of the 90s classic but finds a warmth and political honesty the original lacks". Witney Seibold of 'Slash Film' rated the film 7 out of 10 stars and wrote "Despite how corny it is, 'Laal Singh Chaddha' it unexpectedly disarming". Carlos Aguilar of 'The Wrap' stated "The setting and language have changed, but the story still thinks it's being uplifting about the neuroatypical even as it punches down". Siddhant Adlakha of 'Joy Sauce' stated "'Laal Singh Chaddha' is an effective adaptation that not only localizes the specifics of 'Forrest Gump', but translates its relationship with its setting, swapping the self-professed peace and prosperity of '90s America for the more volatile and nationalistic climate of modern India, where the country's image of itself remains in constant flux". Nicolas Rapold of 'The New York Times' commented that "The movies charms are limited by what comes to feel like a coddling conceit.".
Politics
The supporters of the ruling party in India Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) boycotted the film with twitter hashtags, prior to the release of the film. BJP supporters claimed the boycott was due to lead actor Aamir Khan's remarks in 2015 about "growing intolerance" in India, his 2014 movie 'PK' that purportedly mocked Hindu gods and HInduism, and his 2017 meeting with Turkeys president Recep Tayyip Erdoan (who is alleged to be "Hinduphobic").Khan said that he was 'heartbroken' after seeing this trend, and requested people to watch his film. There were mixed opinions as to whether the film's poor performance was due to the boycott trend, unsatisfactory content, or an inappropriate time of release.
Box office
'Laal Singh Chaddha' earned 11.70 crores at the domestic box office on its opening day. On the second day, the film collected 7.26 crore. On the third day, the film collected 9 crore. On the fourth day, the film collected 10 crore, taking a total domestic weekend collection to 37.96 crore., the film grossed in India and overseas, for a worldwide gross collection of . It also became the highest-grossing Hindi film of 2022 at international box office, earning more than 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' and 'The Kashmir Files'.
References
Buy Laal Singh Chaddha now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 2022