It’s like making Mughal-e-Azam again: Aamir Khan on remaking Forrest Gump

Bollywood star Aamir Khan is ready to release his much-controversial film, Forrest Gump, amid tight scrutiny from hard-liners in India. But did you know, Aamir wasn't keen on making Laal Singh Chaddha in the first place? 

Talking to Cinestaan in an interview, Aamir agreed that he was not ready to sit for a narration of Atul Kulkarni'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 it, he would feel bad. Also, a film like Forrest Gump, which is such a cult classic, is very difficult to imagine adapting 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.”

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