Aamir Khan on Laal Singh Chaddha: Not in my wildest dreams did I imagine adapting Forrest Gump 

Sathyam theatre was packed with bouncers and cops and the reason was quite obvious, given the large hoardings and posters of Laal Singh Chaddha that were placed all over the theatre. Aamir Khan and team Laal Singh Chaddha were in town earlier today for the Tamil press meet of the film which is coming out later this week. The film's Tamil version is distributed by Udhayanidhi Stalin's Red Giant Movies and along with him and Aamir, the event had other cast members of the much-awaited film in attendance. 

Udhayanidhi, who spoke at the event first, said, "I've bunked school to watch Aamir sir's Rangeela multiple times. I didn't know that one day I'll distribute your film. Thank you for giving me that honour. I realise that I have been distributing a number of films in Tamil and I wanted to slow down and take a step back. When the film's team approached me and asked me to distribute it, I was initially thinking of rejecting the proposal, but Aamir sir video called me and said I had to buy it. That's when I decided to go ahead without even seeing the film."

Laal Singh Chaddha, the official adaptation of the yesteryear Hollywood classic Forrest Gump, is directed by Advait Chandan who had earlier helmed Secret Superstar which was produced by Aamir. Speaking about his upcoming release, Advait said, "Just like in the original film, Laal Singh Chaddha also starts with a shot of a feather fluttering in the wind. Just like how that feather touched us while we worked on this film, we hope it does the same to the audience." Reacting to the Tamil trailer that was played at the meet, Chandan added, "This film started 14 years ago with Atul Kulkarni sir who wanted to adapt Forrest Gump. I'm more excited to watch the Tamil version after seeing the trailer."

The film also marks the Hindi debut of Telugu actor Naga Chaitanya. The actor, who had spent a considerable number of years in Chennai, opted to speak in Tamil and said, "Chennai is very close to me as I studied here for 18 years. It's nice to return to this city for a film like Laal Singh Chaddha which is an important one in my career. I learnt a lot from Aamir sir during the making of this film and I can't thank the team enough." 

Aamir, who spoke last, said "I want to thank Udhayanidhi Stalin for liking this film and distributing it. We have made the film with a lot of love and care, and we hope it touches your hearts as how it did ours. We had a vision of how to go about and the film is quite close to what we wanted to make. I hope you all like the film and I'm looking forward to it." Talking about adapting Forrest Gump, he said, "14 years ago, Atul wrote the adaptation and screenplay. It's such a classic film and I initially didn't take it seriously but then I heard the narration and I fell in love with it. It took two years for me to accept it and another eight to get things sorted. Not in my wildest dreams did I imagine adapting Forrest Gump. It's the way it got adapted that got me hooked to Laal Singh Chaddha.
 
When the floor was opened to questions from the media folks, one of them asked Udhay about distributing a Hindi film despite being vocal about language-based politics that has been a topic of conversation for a while in the state. "We have always been against the idea of imposing a language and that's where things like 'Hindi theriyathu poda' came up. But we have never been against learning new languages. That's has been DMK's stand all this while," said Udhay. "Past the language, I'm a huge fan of Aamir sir's work. Similar to how Forrest Gump covered various aspects of American culture, Laal Singh Chaddha will talk about Indian history and that's something I had the opportunity to discuss with Aamir sir. He convinced me about a couple of aspects and even took my input at places. Working with him is a fanboy moment for me."

Speaking about the challenges of playing the titular role in the film, Aamir said, "The challenge was to get into the mind of the character. Laal Singh is someone with a lot of innocence and to play such a character was a challenge. Moreover, despite being in my 50s I have to portray this character in various age groups, starting from when he's 18. That was my biggest challenge." When another reporter asked how, unlike Forrest Gump, the adaptation has given Aamir's character a religious identity, Aamir said, "That was the way the film has been adapted and Atul wrote it keeping the story in mind. There are reasons why we have taken certain routes and I don't want to rob you of the joy of knowing it when you see the film."

Laal Singh Chaddha, also starring Kareena Kapoor, Mona Singh and Manav Vij, will release this Thursday in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.