Aamir Khan BREAKS silence on Laal Singh Chaddha and PK comparisons; reacts SHARPLY to criticisms on Mona Singh’s casting

After a gap of nearly four years, Aamir Khan is back on-screen with Laal Singh Chaddha. The superstar was in his element and gave some interesting answers while speaking to the media recently. Excepts…

How did you prep for the role of Laal Singh Chaddha?
Physically, I had to grow a beard. Other than that, getting into the mind of the character was the main job. I am in my 50s but I am playing an 18-year-old, 21-year-old etc. in this film. So, to get that innocence is very difficult, after you’ve been through so much in life (smiles). That was my biggest challenge.

What is that you liked in Forrest Gump that made you take up the remake?
The power of the character’s innocence is what I liked the most. Often in our films, our heroes are physically strong. Hamare hero 10, 20, 40 logon ko maar sakte hai. Or maybe our heroes are morally strong. They can fight against atrocities. But here is a hero whose strength is innocence. Uski maasomiyat uski taakat hai. Aur woh taakat ki tarah use nahi karta usko (smiles)! However, his innocence is such that uske saamne aap apne hatyaar daal dete ho. I experienced this innocence in Forrest Gump and I wanted the Indian audiences to experience it as well.

How did this title Laal Singh Chaddha come about?
Atul Kulkarni wrote the script, and came up with this title. He wanted to call the character Laal because it’s a very loving name. Jaise maa apne bete ko ‘laal’ bolti hai. He wanted a very cute name.

On social media, it was said that your acting is similar to your acting in PK. Thoughts?
I think you should watch Laal Singh Chaddha and then decide. There’s one similarity between both character – innocence. PK is innocent and so is Laal. In a trailer, you might not be able to see the difference between the two. You’ll realize it when you see the whole performance in the film.

Mona Singh plays your mother. A lot of netizens felt that she is age-inappropriate and that someone else should have been cast…
Why on earth would you say that? It’s a very unfortunate thing if that is being said. She has done a fantastic job. She’s playing a young mother. So how is it age-inappropriate? Aapke mind mein woh Aamir Khan ki maa hai. Hamare mind mein woh Laal ki maa hai. So, I don’t know what’s the problem here.

I guess since she’s younger than you in real life, hence the criticism…
Suppose I have to play a 115-year-old man. Toh kya uske liye mujhe 115 saal ka hona padega? Ajeeb baat hai yeh toh! Age-specific kya hota hai actors ke liye? Actors ka toh yeh kamaal hota hai ki woh koi bhi age ke ho sakte hai aur koi bhi age ke characters ko play kar sakte hai. When you’d see Mona Singh, you’d be amazed that ‘Yeh toh badi young lag rahi hai’. Later, you’d be like ‘Yeh toh badi old lag rahi hai’. Yeh toh kamaal hai uska aur yeh kamaal aap usse chheen rahe ho! If I was Mona Singh, I would have been very disturbed (laughs)!

Even Neena Gupta said recently that actors of her age don’t get significant roles. So all these criticisms stem from such aspects…
Well, this is a larger discussion. I feel that if I am directing a film, and I feel this person is correct for this role, I’ll take him or her. As far as age goes, I am going to deal with how old that person looks, male or female. That’s my choice as I am the director. Agar aapko kisi aur ko cast karna hai, toh aap bana lijiye na film. Jab aap film banaoge, toh jo age group lena hai, le lo. Kaun rok raha hai aapko?

What is the screen count of Laal Singh Chaddha?
I think we’ll be sharing the screens with Raksha Bandhan. So I guess we’ll be releasing in over 3000 screens. Both films will get around the same number.

Your film clashes with Raksha Bandhan in cinemas…
I hope both the films do well. I have seen the trailer of Raksha Bandhan. I really liked it. I was asking, do we make films that are relevant? Here’s a film which is relevant! It is a film of a common man who does have problems and economic issues. I am hoping the film is well-made and that it does well as it’s a topic which is relevant to us. And I hope our film also does well!

It is said that the evolution of an actor is as much about learning as it’s about unlearning. Are you unlearning?
I have been trying to unlearn for the longest time. When I signed Dil Chahta Hai (2001), that was the first time I started it. When I heard Farhan’s script, I told him ‘Tune jo likha hai na, woh itna real hai that the first thing I need to do is unlearn whatever I’ve learnt. I cannot have any skill in this film’. So it’s constantly a process of unlearning. The more you learn and the more experience you get, you need to keep reminding yourself to let go and allow some rawness to be there.

Also Read: Aamir Khan BREAKS silence on the feedback given by Chiranjeevi, S S Rajamouli, Sukumar and Nagarjuna about Laal Singh Chaddha; says “They all had one reaction and we realized that they are right. And we made the chance accordingly”

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