Forrest Gump’s Bubba from Alabama is Bala from Bodipalem in Laal Singh Chaddha, the Indian remake of the film that won Tom Hanks an Oscar. Several behind-the-scenes looks at the film’s production were shared by Viacom18 Studios in a new video, which introduced actor Naga Chaitanya as Balaraju. The film is set to hit theatres next month after a long production that lasted the duration of the pandemic. Laal Singh Chaddha’s four-minute video quickly hints at how strange (yet familiar) he may be. In many ways, Bala’s opening sequence resembles Mykelti Williamson’s Bubba in Forrest Gump, although it is much brighter and more soaked in local flavour in typical Bollywood flair.
Andhra Pradesh’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh is home to Bala, which hails from a tiny town. Bala’s full name is Balaraju Bodi, which Chaitanya reveals in the film is taken from his birthplace in South India. Chaitanya, a well-known film star in his native state of Telangana, has a tie to the name as well. In 1948, Akkineni Nageswara Rao played the lead role in the film Balaraju. Chaitanya’s grandpa, Bala, is based on Chaitanya’s grandfather in Laal Singh Chaddha, but like Bubba in Forrest Gump, Bala has a projecting jaw.
As one of India’s most well-known and recognised actors, Khan expressed his gratitude to Chaitanya for accepting to feature in the film and talked highly of him. In the words of the man himself: “I owe a lot to Chay for making this movie. Working with him was a pleasure for me since I felt at ease as a producer. He’s a good teammate. He’s really sharp as a performer. He gives it his all, totally engrossed in the movie. He seems completely absorbed in his work.” Actors seldom cross over from one industry to another in India since the country’s burgeoning film sectors operate mostly independently of one another.
The fact that Chaitanya, a well-known actor in the Telugu film industry — from which RRR hails – worked on Laal Singh Chaddha, a Hindi-language film, is noteworthy. Like a Spanish person who speaks Italian, Chaitanya had to speak Hindi for the film. Behind-the-scenes footage from the Kargil Battle, which is expected to be the setting for the film’s war scenes, can also be seen in this video (Chaitanya talks about shooting in Kargil). Forrest and Bubba fought in Vietnam in Forrest Gump. With a total of six Oscars under his belt (including Best Picture), director Robert Zemeckis brought this film to life. Khan is one of the most popular moviegoers in the country.
Thugs of Hindostan, his swashbuckler adventure from last year, was a critical and economic failure. His role in the Oscar-nominated historical drama Lagaan made him a household name in the West. Advait Chandan directs and Atul Kulkarni writes the script for Laal Singh Chaddha, which also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan and Mona Singh from the first film. For the Indian Independence Day celebration, the film will be released on August 11.