Actress Kareena Kapoor answered a question about whether she had any concerns when signing Laal Singh Chaddha, the Forrest Gump remake, and whether she thought people should have watched the original film. In a recent interview, Kareena said she had no qualms as Laal Singh Chaddha is “an original adaptation in a different language”. He also added that many people haven’t seen Forrest Gump as it is “an elitist kind of class movie”. (Also read | Aamir Khan Says He Didn’t Save ‘Adult Scenes From Forrest Gump’ For Laal Singh Chaddha)
Forrest Gump (1994) is a comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. Based on Winston Groom’s 1986 novel of the same name, the film features Tom Hanks as an ordinary man navigating his life and major events in US history. Also starring Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson and Sally Field. It was a box office success and became the highest grossing film in the US that year. Forrest Gump earned over $678.2 million worldwide during its theatrical run.
In an interview to News18, Kareena said, “No, because it’s an original adaptation in a different language. Our language and our feelings and emotions are very different from theirs as well. So we adapted it for our Indian screens and I am sure people would enjoy it. But there are still a lot of people who haven’t seen Forrest Gump yet.”
He continued, “Because the masses wouldn’t have seen Forrest Gump. It’s an elitist kind of classist film. It’s a movie people haven’t seen, so they’ll see it for a story. They won’t see it because it’s a remake of Forrest Gump. Of course, Aamir (Khan) has gone for it, but it’s also a story that people would like to see.”
Kareena’s Forrest Gump comment did not go down well with people as they took to social media platforms and expressed their shock. Sharing an excerpt from the interview, one person tweeted, “The reason I think education is important.” Another Twitter user said, “I mean he’s saying that for a mainstream movie.” “These people are undermining the masses. OTT has brought ‘elitist’ movies into our homes. Time and curiosity is a combination that any scum can’t beat,” wrote another tweet.
On Reddit, a user commented on a post about Kareena’s remark. The person wrote, “It’s hard to defend a person like her, but I’ll try. She’s not the smartest around. She was probably trying to say that most Indians wouldn’t have seen Forrest Gump and LSC would make this story accessible. to the larger Indian audience.” Another person wrote, “Does she even listen to herself? The short pause after said it! She realized she’s come out so straight.” One comment read: “I’d love to see her define elitist and classist.”
Laal Singh Chaddha is set to hit the theaters on August 11. The film was produced by Aamir Khan Productions, Kiran Rao and Viacom18 Studios. It features Kareena, Aamir Khan, Mona Singh and Naga Chaitanya. Laal Singh Chaddha’s team recently announced that the film will be available on OTT six months after its release.
