Aamir Khan’s first thoughts on remaking Forrest Gump: ‘It’s like making Mughal-e-Azam, Mother India again’

In his recent interview with Hindustan Times, Atul Kulkarni had revealed that Aamir Khan dodged his request to listen to the script of Laal Singh Chaddha for sometime, before finally agreeing to it. Aamir has now responded to the statement, and revealed why he did so. Aamir has said the thought of an adaptation of Forrest Gump made him think it was a task similar to attempting a remake of Mughal-e-Azam or Mother India. (Also read: Aamir Khan refused to read Atul Kulkarni’s Laal Singh Chaddha script for two years)

Atul had said in his recent interview that he wrote Laal Singh Chaddha in 15 days, but Aamir would not listen to the script, for two years. They had watched the original Hollywood film together before Atul started working on an Indian adaptation.

Talking to Cinestaan in an interview, Aamir agreed that he was not ready to sit for a narration of Atul’s script for Forrest Gump adaptation. “Yes. I was a little worried because he had written his first script. He hadn’t written a script before. He asked me to listen to it very enthusiastically. I felt if I listen and don’t like, he would feel bad. Also, a film like Forrest Gump, which is such a cult classic, is very difficult to imagine to adapt into another film. That’s why I didn’t listen to his script for two years,” he said.

Aamir added, “I was like, ‘How dare you make me read Forrest Gump?’ You can’t even think of making Forrest Gump again. It’s like making Mughal-a-Azam and Mother India again. I felt why should I waste my time listening to something I don’t want to make? But when I heard it, I was blown. I felt, yes, he has done it. It was a very moving experience for me. The moment I heard it, I said I want to do this.”

Atul had told Hindustan Times in an interview this week, “First two years, Aamir didn’t read the script. It’s not that we were not meeting or we weren’t in touch. All the time, he would say, ‘haan padhte hain (yes we will do a reading)’. After a couple of years, I asked him when will we read. And then he said ‘let me confess something. You are not a writer and you tell me you have written a Forrest Gump adaptation in 15 days. You are a close friend and I don’t want to disappoint you by saying you have written very badly’. That’s why he wasn’t listening to the script.”

Directed by Advait Chandan, Laal Singh Chaddha is slated for a theatrical release on August 11. It also features Kareena Kapoor Khan and Mona Singh.