Bollywood seeks boost with 'Forrest Gump' remake

One of India's biggest stars is banking on a remake of Hollywood feelgood hit 'Forrest Gump' to revive the fortunes of Hindi-language Bollywood, after a string of weak box-office showings. Disappointing takings for other Bollywood A-listers have cast a pall over an industry still recovering from Covid-19 lockdown losses when many in movie-mad India turned to streaming giants like Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar. But there are several changes, with Gump's 'box of chocolates' line becoming 'Life is just like a golgappa. Your tummy might feel full, but your heart always craves more.' The film promises to take people through India's history in the same way Gump stumbled through and influenced major U.S. events like the Vietnam War. Khan, the star of megahit 'Dangal' (2016), and screenwriter Atul Kulkarni were coy in sharing what Indian historical settings would be featured. Khan, 57, admitted that he initially put off reading Kulkarni's script, uncertain it would be possible to adapt such a 'cult classic'. 'But when I heard the script, I understood he's done it. It was a moving experience for me. I really loved it. The moment I heard it I wanted to do this.' 'I wondered how they would play around with such an iconic film,' added Naga Chaitanya, a Telugu-language star from the southern film industry 'Tollywood' who plays Bala, an adaptation of Gump's shrimp-fishing Vietnam comrade Bubba. Recent silver-screen hits have not come from Hindi-language Bollywood but are in other Indian languages, such as action flicks 'Pushpa', 'KGF: Chapter 2' and 'RRR'. Action film 'Shamshera', released on July 22 and starring Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor, has so far only made $5.6 million, dashing hopes it would lure audiences back to Hindi cinema. Now, all eyes are on 'Laal Singh Chaddha' and family dramedy 'Raksha Bandhan' with Bollywood megastar Akshay Kumar -- which also releases on Thursday. Khan, who co-produced 'Laal Singh Chaddha', believes Bollywood hasn't lost its mojo, blaming the early release of movies on streaming services for lower box-office takings.

Bollywood seeks boost with 'Forrest Gump' remake

Aamir Khan's "Laal Singh Chaddha", an adaptation of the 1994 U.S. classic starring Tom Hanks, hits cinemas on Thursday ahead of India's 75th independence celebrations.