Why ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ is the Best Possible Adaptation of ‘Forrest Gump’

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[00:00:30] Hello and welcome to Do I Like It, a show where we talk about everything.

[00:00:34] In this episode, we will talk about how to adapt

[00:00:36] a classic film of a different culture.

[00:00:40] What to do and what not to do while taking a source material

[00:00:44] and tweaking it in a different cultural context.

[00:00:46] And to understand this, we are going to take the example of a film

[00:00:49] which upon its release was really panned by people

[00:00:52] but it later got some love when it released on Netflix.

[00:00:56] Yes, I am going to work on the most risky thing in my online life.

[00:00:59] At the risk of getting trolled for the rest of my life

[00:01:02] I am going to defend LAL SING CHATTA

[00:01:04] and why I think it's the best possible adaptation

[00:01:07] of a classic like Forest Gump.

[00:01:09] Please note, I am not saying that LAL SING CHATTA

[00:01:11] is the best film far from that

[00:01:13] but I think it did a great job of Indianizing

[00:01:15] such a loved Hollywood classic.

[00:01:17] See, in addition to being a great film and screenplay

[00:01:20] Forest Gump was a film that really represented

[00:01:23] the post-Vietnam War America.

[00:01:26] Its aspirations and fears very poignantly.

[00:01:29] So, setting such a rooted picture in India

[00:01:31] is a bit tricky.

[00:01:33] It would be like an American remake of a film like Omshanti Oum.

[00:01:37] It's not just a rebirth story, right?

[00:01:39] And just like that, LAL SING CHATTA

[00:01:41] wasn't just a film about a man and his journey.

[00:01:44] If it wants to do justice to the original

[00:01:46] it must embody the soul of the original

[00:01:49] and find that soul within India.

[00:01:51] Now, look, Forest Gump is a metaphor for America.

[00:01:55] Forest's journey draws parallels with the journey of America as a country.

[00:01:59] It was named after Nathan Bedford Forest,

[00:02:01] the founder of the Ku Klux Klan

[00:02:02] and that speaks volumes of America

[00:02:04] trying to deal with its racist past

[00:02:06] and trying to accept it and tread a path of healing.

[00:02:10] Forest said that his mother named him so

[00:02:12] to remind him that sometimes we all just do things

[00:02:15] that don't make sense.

[00:02:16] Also, the way Forest started the Babagump Shrimp Company

[00:02:20] shows the American entrepreneurial spirit

[00:02:22] or the deeply Christian undertones of some of the

[00:02:25] philosophical ideas his mother talks about.

[00:02:27] All of this is telling us a great deal about

[00:02:29] USA as a culture

[00:02:31] and it's tough to Indianize this thing

[00:02:34] because how do you take something so rooted in a particular culture

[00:02:37] and set it somewhere else without losing the soul of it?

[00:02:42] Everything from the character's name to the accent

[00:02:44] is telling you about the past, present and future of these people.

[00:02:48] So let's see how Lal Singh Chanda does it.

[00:02:52] In India, the first step is the main character

[00:02:57] and what will be the name of this character?

[00:02:59] Lal Singh Chanda would be a very different film from a

[00:03:02] Saurav Chandra and that would be a very different film from a

[00:03:04] Najaf Ali Khan.

[00:03:06] The three people have different lives,

[00:03:08] they have different struggles, everything is different.

[00:03:09] Their life is like a chocolate dialogue.

[00:03:13] So this choice becomes very important.

[00:03:17] Lal is from a Fawzi family whose grandfather

[00:03:19] was martyred in World War I and in World War II.

[00:03:23] And his mother is a boss lady who does kheti as well as

[00:03:26] raised Lal. And this talks about her rural wisdom.

[00:03:30] She has seen life, she has seen her father

[00:03:34] go for war and never return. She has seen the struggles

[00:03:36] of living as a single mother. So when she says

[00:03:39] that she is not different from anyone else, she has lived that reality.

[00:03:42] She was someone who was different in this masculine

[00:03:45] and patriarchal world. But she still thrived.

[00:03:48] So Lal is completely different from anyone else.

[00:03:50] She can do everything. Also making him a Sikh really

[00:03:54] drives home the point of spirituality.

[00:03:57] Being a fairly recent religion in our subcontinent,

[00:04:00] Sikh teaching is like a distillation of many other religions

[00:04:04] which makes it very easy to talk about concepts

[00:04:07] like destiny and free will. Also being a Sikh

[00:04:11] living close to the Indo park border, Lal's army

[00:04:13] lineage is also quite believable. Or the scene where he starts

[00:04:17] a charitable hospital. It really hits home when you think

[00:04:20] about it in the tradition of Dasvahista Rabada.

[00:04:23] Not saying that the rest of the religions

[00:04:25] don't charity but you get what I am saying.

[00:04:27] It's more than just a plot point for Lal Singh Chanda.

[00:04:29] But now in that aspect, I do have a point of

[00:04:32] criticism for the film. Where I praise Lal's character

[00:04:35] I didn't quite like how Bala was conceiving.

[00:04:39] See, Baba in the original film is a black man from

[00:04:42] Alabama who wants to start a shrimp company.

[00:04:46] Now that makes sense if you think about the geography

[00:04:48] of Alabama. It's like someone from Kashmir saying

[00:04:51] I know everything there is to know about apples.

[00:04:54] It's a stereotype but it works.

[00:04:56] Baba had a capitalistic entrepreneurial spirit

[00:04:58] because he truly believed just like many Americans

[00:05:01] that making money would take his family out of

[00:05:04] generations of poverty. But in his case,

[00:05:08] why was Bala Telugu and why did he want to make

[00:05:11] Chadi Banyan? I don't know if there's a big

[00:05:14] undergarment industry in Bodhipalam please let me

[00:05:16] know in the comments. But this connection

[00:05:19] was a little forced. Also in the USA

[00:05:21] there was a mandatory draft during the

[00:05:24] Vietnam War but the Indian army is a

[00:05:27] voluntary service. So here we have

[00:05:28] the people of the army who are so fit and fit

[00:05:31] they have to compulsorily enrol to fight that

[00:05:36] war. Baba is not able to start his company

[00:05:40] because he has to serve in the military for

[00:05:42] a few years. It would have been more

[00:05:44] Indian had they been in a boring

[00:05:46] government job or even a desk job at the

[00:05:49] airport. But other than that one thing

[00:05:51] I really like how Lalsing Chadda dealt

[00:05:53] with Indianizing their American counterparts.

[00:05:56] Turning Jenny into a Don's mistress,

[00:05:57] referencing the underworld era of Bollywood.

[00:06:00] Or Muhammad's character, dude I love what they

[00:06:02] did with him but I'm going to talk about it

[00:06:04] in the next section. The Vietnam War is

[00:06:10] considered to be a very pointless war that

[00:06:13] America got itself into. Which is why

[00:06:16] the film really treated that sequence

[00:06:18] with satire. You can see this in the

[00:06:20] kind of music and edit choices they make.

[00:06:22] They want you to sort of laugh at the

[00:06:24] American government and the American

[00:06:25] military. If you listen to Forrest's voice

[00:06:27] over, he says there was always something to

[00:06:30] do and we went for long walks and that

[00:06:32] gets intercut with visuals that

[00:06:34] flipped the tension. And all of this is

[00:06:36] happening while Jimmy Hendrix's All Along

[00:06:38] the Watchtower is playing. You know, there

[00:06:40] must be some kind of way out here said

[00:06:42] the Joker to the thief. You're supposed

[00:06:44] to laugh at all of this. But bro, in

[00:06:46] India's case you can't say this. The

[00:06:48] Kargil war wasn't something to be

[00:06:50] satirized. We were on the defensive,

[00:06:52] Pakistan had an altitude advantage and

[00:06:54] the fact that we came out on top to

[00:06:56] defend our land is something to be

[00:06:57] celebrated. If you compare Forrest Gump

[00:07:00] and Lal Singh Chadda's war voice over,

[00:07:02] Lal is very serious. Captain Saab

[00:07:05] made 6-6 teams. We went

[00:07:06] for a cover fire. Dude, he's talking

[00:07:09] about proper war strategy. Compare

[00:07:11] that with Forrest Gump's long walks.

[00:07:13] Even the music and short

[00:07:15] selection made it look like a typical

[00:07:16] war drama. But then there's one more

[00:07:18] problem. Dan Taylor was a lieutenant

[00:07:21] who believed that it was his destiny

[00:07:23] to die in war for his country. And

[00:07:25] that destiny is contrasted with what

[00:07:27] happened in the war. You feel like

[00:07:29] bro, you were talking about this destiny

[00:07:30] and when he gets saved by Forrest

[00:07:33] and has to live the rest of his life

[00:07:35] with disability, this destiny

[00:07:37] gets questioned. There's a sense of

[00:07:39] bitterness in him towards life, towards

[00:07:41] God because he thought he'll

[00:07:44] attain glory by dying for his country

[00:07:46] like his forefathers. But he's

[00:07:48] living a deprived life on a wheelchair

[00:07:49] probably still recovering from the

[00:07:51] PTSD of a war that half the country

[00:07:53] thinks is useless. What kind of destiny is this?

[00:07:55] And to say this thing in India, to

[00:07:57] say this bitterness in India, one

[00:07:59] thing is sorted out that bro, Dan

[00:08:01] cannot be a forgy of the Indian

[00:08:03] era. Kargil war was not pointless.

[00:08:05] We didn't lose that war and

[00:08:07] any Kargil war veteran would live

[00:08:09] the rest of his life in honour.

[00:08:11] There's no question about bitterness.

[00:08:13] So what should we do now? Just like

[00:08:14] Vietnam, you can say that Kargil

[00:08:16] war was a war that Pakistan

[00:08:18] unnecessarily got itself into. And

[00:08:21] a soldier who was given the promise to

[00:08:23] die for his religion would

[00:08:25] understandably be bitter if he gets

[00:08:27] saved. And that touch absolutely

[00:08:29] shines in Laal Singh Chadda.

[00:08:33] I also like the way Laal Singh

[00:08:35] Chadda deals with the character of

[00:08:36] Jenny. Forest Gump almost made

[00:08:39] it look like Jenny deserves her fate

[00:08:41] for being a hippie. It looks at her

[00:08:43] from a very old conservative lens.

[00:08:45] She had a troubled past, sure,

[00:08:47] but it's almost like the film is

[00:08:48] punishing her for being with the Black

[00:08:50] Panthers, for chasing money. And at

[00:08:52] the end, her illness is a sure shot

[00:08:54] reference to America's hysteria about

[00:08:56] HIV. But here, Rupa has more

[00:08:58] agency. Yes, she got into trouble,

[00:09:00] but she's not a

[00:09:02] bichari. Okay, bro, she's

[00:09:05] regretful because of the wrong

[00:09:06] man. But her story also talks about

[00:09:08] the whole modesty culture we have. So I

[00:09:09] really preferred Rupa over Jenny.

[00:09:14] And now I want to talk about the best

[00:09:16] aspect of Laal Singh Chadda, which

[00:09:18] in my eyes made it the best possible

[00:09:20] way forest gump could have been

[00:09:22] interpreted. Even though the original

[00:09:23] makers don't outwardly say so, forest

[00:09:25] gump is a deeply religious thing. It

[00:09:28] tries to ponder over questions of

[00:09:29] destiny and our place in the world.

[00:09:32] Just like the feather, we also

[00:09:33] always fly from one place to another.

[00:09:35] What if the feather stops and asks

[00:09:37] that I am wearing a forest gump's shoes

[00:09:39] and what am I doing? But if you

[00:09:40] want to bring it to India, then you

[00:09:42] have both a great problem and a

[00:09:44] great opportunity. Being set in India,

[00:09:46] you have the luxury of

[00:09:48] talking about the vast civilization

[00:09:50] of religious and spiritual thought

[00:09:52] that we've had. But again

[00:09:54] you can't see the copy-paste

[00:09:56] the Jesus' story to Laal Singh Chadda.

[00:09:58] But I really like the way they approach it

[00:10:00] in this film. Just look at Laal when

[00:10:02] he sees a man wear a turban at the

[00:10:04] army hospital. And her mother, when

[00:10:06] she has to cut Laal's hair. Or when

[00:10:07] Muhammad Paji asks her, I've never seen

[00:10:09] you do not respect me. Laal doesn't

[00:10:12] get what he means. Because all his

[00:10:14] life, Laal has lived

[00:10:16] as if the whole world is

[00:10:18] godly. And he can connect to the

[00:10:20] God within himself by being nice

[00:10:22] to people. When he says,

[00:10:24] I don't like to kill anyone. Just see

[00:10:26] the childlike innocence in his eyes.

[00:10:28] He's living a godly life without even

[00:10:30] knowing it. But then when Rupa leaves

[00:10:32] him and after he has lost his mother,

[00:10:34] Bala and Muhammad Paji, there's

[00:10:36] a void in his life. Every thing

[00:10:38] in which he could see a God, he left.

[00:10:40] So what does Laal do? He starts running.

[00:10:42] Not to reach anywhere,

[00:10:44] not for world peace or the environment,

[00:10:46] he runs to find out the answer

[00:10:48] that why is he trying to run away?

[00:10:50] And what's the background music? You are

[00:10:51] the one who's asking, you are the prophet.

[00:10:53] The friend you're looking for is within you.

[00:10:56] Turkalia. And by the end of this

[00:10:58] pilgrimage, when he sees

[00:11:00] his long hair and grown beard

[00:11:01] in the mirror, he understands what it

[00:11:03] means to be a Sikh. He sees his

[00:11:05] ancestors image in himself. The very

[00:11:07] act of growing your hair in itself

[00:11:10] is like a quest for him.

[00:11:12] He had to cut his hair to save his life

[00:11:13] and he grew them back when he found

[00:11:15] out what he was alive for.

[00:11:17] And with that, his turban comes back.

[00:11:20] Because his religion is

[00:11:21] no longer just a bunch of rituals.

[00:11:24] He has finally understood what it means

[00:11:26] to be one with God. And what's the background music?

[00:11:28] The A.R. Rahman's icon card.

[00:11:29] Dude I'm just getting goosebumps

[00:11:31] just thinking about that scene. It's so good.

[00:11:33] It was such a beautiful way in which

[00:11:35] director Advay Chandon and writer Atul Kulkarni

[00:11:38] brought Indian

[00:11:39] spiritualism through this story

[00:11:41] about a Christian character.

[00:11:42] And yes, these were some of my thoughts

[00:11:45] about how Lal Singh Chadda adapted a Hollywood

[00:11:47] classic like Forest Gump. It would

[00:11:49] have been a tremendously huge task

[00:11:51] but I think the makers did

[00:11:53] justice to the original material. And this

[00:11:55] is not me saying that the film didn't have its flaws.

[00:11:57] For one, Amir Khan's acting.

[00:12:00] Also, I wanted

[00:12:01] more interesting historical moments

[00:12:03] in which Lal could have been added

[00:12:05] considering what all we can do with CGI.

[00:12:07] Like, in Forest Gump

[00:12:08] he actually did change

[00:12:11] history. There was nothing like that here.

[00:12:13] Imagine Vikram Bhakra

[00:12:14] is giving an interview on Kargil's time

[00:12:15] and Lal is sitting on the side and drinking Pepsi.

[00:12:18] And after seeing him, he gets the idea of Dil Mangamore.

[00:12:21] There were some surface

[00:12:23] level talks going on here except

[00:12:24] the shark Khan dance. That was genius.

[00:12:28] I absolutely love Forest Gump.

[00:12:30] I think it's one of the best screenplays ever

[00:12:31] and so impactful for cinema.

[00:12:34] Films like My Name is Khan and Ode to My Father

[00:12:36] wouldn't exist without Forest Gump.

[00:12:37] Hell, Om Shanti Om Sajna se kaise hai

[00:12:40] laad sajni wala video wouldn't exist

[00:12:42] without Forest Gump. And I think

[00:12:44] Lal Singh Chadda was a valiant effort

[00:12:45] to recontextualize such a sacred film.

[00:12:48] But yaar tum log batao, tumhe

[00:12:49] Forest Gump kaisi lagti hai?

[00:12:51] And tumhe Lal Singh Chadda kaisi lagi?

[00:12:53] And do you think a classic like Forest Gump

[00:12:55] can even be adapted for another culture?

[00:12:57] Let me know your thoughts. The conversation continues

[00:12:59] in the comments below. This was Pratik

[00:13:01] and I will see you in the next one.