I saw a movie in the movie theater recently and
I had a phone experience. Uh, it was just like
the theater was pretty empty, but it was me and,
uh, my girlfriend and we were sitting watching
the movie, but there's these guys like in the
front row and they were, I don't know where they
were from, but they were talking the whole time
and they were both on their phones and like their
phones are like brightly lit and like, I could
see them like on Tinder and stuff. And they were
just on their like dating apps and chatting with
each other the whole time. And they were like
trying to be quiet, but it was super loud still.
And like the screen is so bright, you know, like
you could see it. You could see it from anywhere.
So I did. It was the first time I've ever done
this, but like halfway through, I did like on
my way to the bathroom, I walked up to them and
was like, guys, we can see everything and hear
everything. Can you not? And yeah, they they
looked at me and turned it down. And that was
nice. That was the first time I've ever done
that, though. I bring this up because we talked
about it last time, the movie theater. Oh yeah,
I've done it in the very first 10 minutes. Oh,
because Killy does that. No, because Killy was
on his phone and talking when I was watching
the last movie with him. Because so Killy likes
to read the Wikipedia of the movie that we're
watching. Oh, I know. So he does that in the
movie theater, I guess. I would watch a shitty
movie like Final Destination for sure, yeah,
but not for the good ones. But are you saying
you would have gone up and told them to? Yeah.
but you're the guy that does mine was not that
bright no but my no it is very bright the dark
theater like i could see everything what movie
were you watching uh 28 years later all right
that's a serious film man it's not a uh funny
film like so killy was doing that for final destination
apparently that's a funny movie but don't worry
killy would be the first one to tell someone
to stop doing that if it wasn't him yeah of course
be the change you want to see in the world Welcome
to Fear of Stairs, Desi Films decoded. The podcast
where four friends from different backgrounds
unlock the world of Desi cinema. I'm Winnie,
the Desi who's never been to India. Hi, I'm Killy.
I'm from India. I love films. My name is Nicky
and I'm okay. Okay. All right. I'll stop without
the racism. My name is Nicky. I'm from Thailand
and I think a Thai version of Forrest Gump is
a bad idea. Yeah, I think a Thai version of Forrest
Gump would suck. I'm Adam. I'm the American movie
buff. And yeah, welcome to Fear of Stairs. What
movie did we watch? Well, there's, I mean, my
introduction gave it away. We're doing the Indian
adaptation of Forrest Gump, Lal Singh Chadha.
And from my quick research, it was actually a
flop, a box office flop. Yeah, big bomb. I was
kind of surprised to learn that too. So One thing,
you know, there's often like a lot of like Indian
spinoffs, right? Or like remakes or something.
But this one was officially licensed. So like
the studio Paramount that made the original Forrest
Gump like produce this. It has the original screenwriter
on board as well. So like this is like an official.
This is a big deal. And I think it's kind of
where that this movie bombed as well, because
Forrest Gump was Paramount's highest grossing
film until Transformers. Like it was their biggest
blockbuster ever. It made like 400 million dollars
just domestically Tom Hanks got an Oscar It was
a huge huge Hit, you know, they did a whole bunch
of restaurants the bubblegum shrimp Restaurants
came from that movie, right? So it makes sense
to like redo it and You know with Paramount's
blessing and stuff. It's a big deal and you have
a big star Mr. Zameer Khan and stuff, but it
was a bomb so I, well, after we watched this,
I watched the original Forrest Gump to try to
figure out like why. And I have two theories
and then we can go into the plot. So the first
one is the original Forrest Gump is very like
reprehensible in terms of like its plot. Like
it is a very, uh, conservative movie. And the
basic lessons, if you guys remember the plot
is like, if you care about anything, Like Lieutenant
Dan does, he's very patriotic, and he's trying
to fight for something above himself. If you
care about anything like that, or if you have
a dream and try to achieve it, like Jenny does,
she wants to be a musician and really fights
for her dream, if you do anything like that,
you will be punished. Your life is cursed, you
will die miserable. like like life will just
like rain down terror on you if you try anything
like this. However, if you're someone like Forrest
Gump, who just kind of nods his head and doesn't
really question anything, there's a lot of absurd
things that happen because of the timeline of
that film. It's like, you know, it goes through
the 60s and ends. The movie was released in 1994.
You know, they go through all these different
presidential assassinations and stuff, and it's
just always in the background like he doesn't
really question anything. When they he's on the
steps of the Washington Monument and he's asked
to give his thoughts on the Vietnam War that
he was in he he doesn't say anything the audience
can't hear it like they do a thing in the movie
were like These guys like remove his microphone.
So no one hears what he says So you never hear
his stance on anything, but basically if you
just nod along really good things will happen
for you You'll get really rich. So just shut
the fuck up and just you know, don't question
stuff and you'll be fine Okay, so the message
is not great The other problem with the movie
is that the main character is like slow You know
and to quote Tropic Thunder like you never go
full retard, right? And then and but he mentions
Forrest Gump like Forrest Gump never went full
retard He was slow, but he's not like stupid
and and and Forrest Gump is just a slow guy if
I realized after watching this new movie that
I have immense respect for Tom Hanks as an actor
now like I do not think this role is possible.
Yeah, unless you're Tom Hanks. It wouldn't fly
right today. It wouldn't fly at any time. But
the movie still holds up in terms of that character,
the original one, because Tom Hanks is an incredible
actor. He can he's just can convey so much through
his eyes, through his emotions. He knows exactly
like how to handle a character. And I really
think that like. I don't think any other actor
could possibly touch this type of role. We see
what happens when someone else does. So I think
the one reason why this movie didn't do well
is just straight up it's not Tom Hanks. I showed
you guys those two clips. I think the thing that
defines the acting gap here is so this movie
which we'll get to is the same exact plot as
Forrest Gump. So if you've seen Forrest Gump,
we'll go through it. But he meets his son and
when Tom Hanks Is meeting the sun like I do tear
up at that scene. Like he sees his son. He says
very few words and you can just see like his
inner monologue the whole time and he pulls it
off and the line he says when he first sees his
son is is he smart or and then he gets choked
up and can't finish the sentence, right? But
in the new one you see it and. I mean, a mere
conscious isn't Tom Hanks and that scene does
not. he doesn't pull off that scene it's not
the same and I think the big giveaway too is
when he says um is he smart or is he like me
like he keeps having to add words because he
can't act act it you know and whenever you can't
act something you have to just keep adding words
and so that I that's like I noticed that so hard
was like he has to explain it so that we get
it Tom Hanks doesn't need to do that and he just
can't pull off that type of scene and I literally
don't think many people can Now the bigger I
think flop issue because Amir Khan still a big
star he sells out movies so that shouldn't be
the bigger issue but Forrest Gump again was released
in 1994 and The Cold War just kind of ended and
it was a big boomer victory lap President Clinton
was in office since 92 everyone in that boomer
generation was getting into positions of power,
you know Tom Hanks and the director Robert Zemeckis
for boomers as well like and the whole movie
is about the boomers experience in America leading
up to the point where the whole world is presented
to them on a platter. It's America's for the
taking and the boomers are the ones in those
positions of power to take advantage of it. I
think it was a huge hit because it's a big galvanizing
movie about a very important time period that
a very influential generational experience at
the same time. you know, tumultuous. Like there
were tons of assassinations and you did have
the Vietnam War. You had a lot of change and
a lot of technological upheaval and it culminates
with the boomers winning out. And the boomers
are inherently pretty conservative, right? And
that message I think does resonate with them
a bit. And so that movie was just a big victory
lap for them. Like we did it, we own the world.
This movie So not just you don't have Tom Hanks
as an actor, but this movie coming out in 2002
is sorry. Thank you. 2022 number one. No one
has that type of galvanizing generational thing
that the boomers experienced in the 60s. And
India is not in a place in 2022 where like they
own the world now and they're doing a big victory
lap. And it's not due to a bunch of series of
events that led them to there either. So I don't
think they have the same like uniform, hegemonic,
like view of history that the boomers did at
that time. And the other very important part
is that, like I said, like Forrest Gump has no
political opinions. He doesn't say anything about
the Vietnam War in the movie presence. He meets
multiple presidents from different parties. They
mean nothing to him. It's a very apolitical movie
for a very political time. Besides, like, it's
very conservative message. But this. new one,
Lost in Chata is very explicitly political. So
there's no way it can be galvanizing because
people are going to take issue with it no matter
what, no matter what side you're on. And so now
we can like kind of get into it. But those are
the two things that I think like, why would this
kind of exact same movie be the biggest hit in
the world? You know, then and now it's just a
huge bomb and no one really connects with it.
And so anyways, those are my two thoughts going
into this. Yeah, so I would think that if they
did the huge political upheaval that they were
showing was around when the BJP came to power,
like before that Anna Hazare movement and stuff
like that, we'll go get into it. uh so if the
film would have come out around that point of
time it might have had that impact but by the
time 2022 people are already forgotten about
it and realize that how what what a crappy movement
that was so that even doesn't ring any you know
bell to Indian subconscious and so I think I
think I think that's that's a big point that
and I heard somewhere that this film was being
about to be released like long back and then
they keep on pushing the release date I mean
they it was supposed to be released before COVID
for sure and then the COVID happened and I think
it was released in like during Covid time, so
the theatre options were less and then it was
mostly released on OTT and then of course OTT
doesn't make much money. So I think that those
things were also played a huge role in this film
becoming not a very successful one. And then
also I feel that people know about Forrest Gump
a lot and it's a very substantially different
level of filmmaking and then uh forrest gump
already had a huge fan base so it's always up
for comparison it's like a taste that it cannot
pass kind of thing but anyway yeah yeah let's
wait before that um no i think adam has a point
about the acting because it was a box office
flop But like critical reception wise, it received
mixed reviews. It was not completely panned by
critics. But one point that critics did point
out was Amir Khan's acting and they found it
over exaggerated or repetitive. So I think that
is an important point. And this is the first
time where I'll kind of tend to agree with it.
I love Amir Khan, but this is probably the third
movie we've watched now where he's acting kind
of like in a bit of a retarded manner. There
was PK and then there's this and you kind of
see the repetition going in. It starts kind of
losing that raw emotion. that we got out of Tom
Hanks. And another interesting point was that
they took like 10 years to write the script,
which was really mind -blowing for me, because
it's so similar to Forrest, right? There's like
almost no creativity. I mean, it's nice that
it sticks to the source material, but you still
expect a bit of creative expression. And I think
this movie kind of lacks that in a way. Yeah,
the acting, just to harp on that too, like rewatching
the original, Yeah, like, Forrest Gump is slow,
but through Tom Hanks' acting, like, he always
has, like, a reason for doing something. Like,
and you can always see his reason for doing something.
Again, he's such a good actor that he doesn't
need a lot of words, but he has motivation and,
like, an interiority, so he's not retarded. He's
not. And, like, he has desires and, like, he
has opinions and stuff. But in this one, he...
Amir Khan plays like a dummy that just does whatever
he's told at all times and never really like
has his own character, you know, grappling with
things. And so he did go full retard on the one.
You know in the one movie that really pulled
it off the last time I think it failed because
of box of golgappas No one no one in india carries
golgappa in a box Which is weird because in america
everyone carries a box of chocolate so that would
like really hit home. No, nobody cares I mean
no box of chocolate is a reality. It is a real
thing Yeah, but box of golgappa is not a real
thing. It's like life is like a box of chocolates
You won't know what you're gonna get the one
that golgappa one is like you said you don't
carry Gokkapa in a box. And this whole thing
about how even if your belly is full, sometimes
your heart is not full. Like, I did not understand
that at all. That makes no sense. That's nothing
to do with that dish. The food plot as well.
Yeah. And can you explain what that dish is,
by the way, for listeners? Gokkapa or Pani Puri,
I think. I noticed Pani Puri. I didn't notice
the other one. I mean, it's a little ball, cracker
thing. You make a hole, you put some potato in,
you put some... Like green spicy chutney and
a bit of tamarind sauce and it's kind of like
it explodes in your mouth a bunch of flavors
It's really tasty. It's one of my favorite foods
It's a very common street food in india But also
notorious for causing food poisoning if your
stomach is not used to the food in india I think
that's why they took 10 years. They're trying
to figure out what can we do? Well, that's the
other that's the other problem is like you you
know when if you're doing it 10 years ago or
or more recent you have to map out the timeline
of events and like And the original Forrest Gump,
like there was a very easy timeline to follow,
right? Cause it, you know, it's up until like
the nineties and you know, there's these set
of historical events that led to this moment.
That all is all very clear. But if you're doing
it in India in random times, then you have to
like find a war. So like we see the movie struggle
with that. Like you have to find a war that maps
onto the Vietnam war and you have to like find
a company like Bubba gum shrimp that like maps
onto this time period too. It just doesn't Translate
also a timeline was like the war happened so
long back and then like in 1996 or seven and
then the last part of the films happening in
2012 13 like after all these years Yeah, and
yeah, anyway, I think we should get in this Let's
get into we can get into the specific plot Well,
the thing is I'm just gonna add in a little bit
just like I was thinking that you know coming
from Thailand it's like We learn a lot about
Western history, right? So when we watch Forrest
Gump, we tend to recognize the events that Forrest
encounters, basically. But with this movie, it's
like I was so lost, man. Like I had no idea with
Indian history. I guess, you know, it's just,
you know, it can't be helped. Like we don't learn
that sort of thing. So I actually had to have
Keely guide me through the entire movie where
he does like long explanations. You know, I'm
going to try my best covering the points in the
story. And if I fumble somewhere along the way,
you guys can help me out. Yeah, Kelly, we're
going to lean on Kelly a lot for this one. Before
we break in, I just want to ask to Kelly, did
you see this movie or was it a thing like the
people talk about this at all? I mean, people
know like who watch Hollywood films and people
who watch Hollywood classics. Uh, they everyone
knows forest gump. Yeah, actually that's right
The reason that we even got to this movie was
because my friend my high school friend irman.
He's he recommended me this movie He said there
is an indian version of forest gump, but then
I asked him is it good? He's like, I don't like
it He does not like it and he seek as well. So
I don't know Shout out to Nerman. I owe you my
life forever. I'll never forget you, Nerman.
I love you. Number one fan. And it was so funny.
Months later, I told him, so if I finally watched
it and he was like, oh, why did you watch it
for the podcast? And he was like, you're doing
a podcast. Are you serious? So you're just watching
it for fun. We were watching Indian movies for
fun. I would never watch Indian movies for fun.
Oh, my God. Never in a million years. He's joking.
He loves Indian movies. So yeah, it follows the
same plot as Forrest Gump. You have this... Amir
Khan plays this guy named Lal. I mean, his name,
Lal Chadha, right? And it plays out scene for
scene. But instead of a park, he's in a train
with some people, and that's where he narrates
his story of events. Which I want to say is the
one big improvement. I think being on the train
just visually, it's way cooler when people are
chatting on the plane or on a train and also
people are stuck with him. So they have to listen.
It's just like a better setting for someone to
tell your whole life story. The train is better.
And then like his mom, you know, he starts the
story, you know, he's a kid who's had like leg
problems. He wears like braces. He's like grand,
great grandfathers and fathers are all soldiers.
And this is where Adam mentioned that actually
that did not happen in the original because that
kind of that story actually goes to Lieutenant
Dan. So they take the story of Lieutenant Dan
where all of his family members like died in
previous wars and they have a whole montage of
all the uh actors like dying in different wars
in the past and in this one they take that backstory
for lieutenant dan which we will get to he's
a very problematic character in this movie and
they give it to forest or they give it to lal
singchata um and yeah so that was a weird edit
but it's the only way to explain why a rich guy
would not go to would go to the army it's a really
when we get to the word we'll talk about it's
a very hard it's very hard to give an explanation
for that if you're not drafted in the vietnam
war and stuff Yeah, let's she you know, they
go to this priest right and then she offers cleaning
services in the most PG way possible That was
like the big that's that's another like big change,
right? I wouldn't say like big but you remember
winning what happens in the first one what the
mom has to sleep she has sex with the like the
school administrator. Oh really? To get her son
in. Whoa, well that definitely wouldn't fly in
Bollywood. I see why they changed it to cleaning.
No, so she fucks like the school administrator
and Forrest hears it upstairs and stuff and then
the school administrator's like leaving like
like um Zipping up his pants and forces like
mimicking the sex sounds they're making and stuff
Yeah, some of that the original movie is it's
very like adult in some areas These these are
the things that makes you laugh and like, you
know, like oh, I mean the mother I think these
are the angles that's like taking the shine out
of the film like these small small things these
quirks that sparse like you know encouragement
like kind of fun in the audience these are like
being when they're being dull making being made
dull Oh yeah, she's cleaning house for the school
father. Yeah, he whips out like an IQ map and
he's like, your son is below this IQ line, which
is a very, I think, Indian way to approach that.
Like, no, he's objectively stupid. And she's
like, we can't join the school. She's like, I'll
clean your house every day that he's here. And
he's like, okay, fine. Well, it paints in a very
dignified light. Like I think the mom steals
the show here. She is a great mother, hands down.
I think you're a better mother if you blow. the
administrator for your son i think that shows
that you love your kid more maybe in america
yeah they cannot like it would be uh i mean sancti
sanctify the mother character of uh indian heroes
you know the mother is like a very sanctimonious
image and then like yeah so even if she's widow
like here like she's not doesn't have a husband
or anything. I mean, even the widow cannot have
sex. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And basically, like,
you know, Forrest Gump, he goes through, as I've
said, like he goes through historical events,
meets famous celebrities. And in this one, you
know, because it's all adapted for an Indian
audience, like he goes through several tragedies,
like the like the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
Well, there's a scene where they're in front
of Indira Gandhi's house and they say this is
where she lives and then they hear the bullets
and then the photo clicks them like all turning
around and then later on that day they find out
that the bullets they heard while taking that
photo was the assassination that killed Indira
Gandhi who and it was by two of her Sikh bodyguards.
Yeah And that's when the mom brings in the malaria
thing. But yeah, I think what Nikki was getting
at was how his mom used to frame all of this
political unrest that was going on this time,
telling him that it's malaria and he needs to
stay inside. So I have a question for you, Adam,
with all these events being told, how was it?
How does it compare to the original? Yeah, the
malaria thing is an introduced in the Indian
one. Like the mom isn't. Protective of forest
in the original she's like go out there. You
know, you're just as normal as the rest of them
this one again really Puts forward the fact that
he's super stupid and like the mom just gives
him direct orders all the time like stay inside
It's malaria and he's like, okay, I'll be here
for three weeks boom. And so he has no Personal
drive all he's doing. He's just listening to
his mom, which I guess makes him a great son
But not an interesting character to watch in
a movie the other Thing is the celebrity he meets
in the original is Elvis, but who is the celebrity
he meets in this show? What does he do? It doesn't
like the the the the hands out dance moves I'm
gesturing but like the our listeners won't see
but like he he like sticks out his arms like
this I guess he's in like the leg braces so he
can only move his arms On a roof top and then
charu khan like turns his head and it's like
deep fake Shah Rukh Khan's face, right? So was
it real Shah Rukh Khan? I still don't know. I
looked into it. I was like, how did they find
a kid who has such similar features to Shah Rukh
Khan? But then Shah Rukh Khan did have a guest
starring role in this. So it is him. Somehow.
They just DH him. Yeah. Yeah. But man, I was
watching clips of like Indian audiences in cinema
watching that. And even just that, they're like
standing up cheering like, oh my God, it's Shah
Rukh Khan. I think this is one spot like where
I really like the film that, OK, this is the
whole one of the spotter like oh yeah like that
that's so funny like it's so funny because uh
yeah Shah Rukh Khan like he taught Shah Rukh
Khan that move like that was that was actually
so this is the one spot like it really takes
it home right it should have gone further with
that stuff yeah just be like weird and and all
the like weird indian like you know media fun
stuff just yes like i think that would have like
yeah i think it's one of the few scenes where
he kind of has like a entertainment footprint
the rest of it is all political yeah with with
an objective political view again in the original
movie he just experiences these events but has
no uh interpretation of it himself really but
in this one like the movie has a very explicit
interpretation every time which makes it which
makes the character himself political and that's
a little hard to swallow. Since the Shah Rukh
Khan scene is a hit for all of us, I think they
actually thought of this first and then they
took another 10 years to think of the political
side. For sure. We got the Shah Rukh Khan, this
is golden. If Shah Rukh Khan's in the film, by
the way, yeah, it's golden. That was the first
and last good idea they had. I do got to say
it's kind of brave of Amir Khan. I was watching
interviews with Amir Khan and he said, him and
Shahrukh Khan have had you know kind of a shaky
history in the past like they haven't always
gone along and you know when this is his this
is Amir Khan's big big passion project like he
was working on this forever like he was really
involved the whole time and it's his production
company so for him to like reach out to Shahrukh
Khan and bring him on like that's actually pretty
cool and it makes for the best moment the closest
thing you can find to Elvis in India yeah it
works it just works But Elvis is like dead by
the time we're watching the original this one
like Shah Rukh Khan is alive and well and in
the movie That's the other like that's pretty
cool. I don't think you'd find a dead legend
in Bollywood That's bigger than Shah Rukh Khan
that are alive. Like he is the biggest legend
still So with all the these historical events
happen happening, uh, you know lao meets this
girl named rupa Uh, that's a little of interest.
That's the jenny of the movie And you know if
he they you know, I think throughout the film
to to so that we can so the audience can know
how what lao's feeling there's a lot of songs
based around their romance no dancing no dancing
and the characters don't sing they're just narrators
singing the emotions for you big big bummer for
me for real like it was too much of a serious
hollywood film and and and and and they had songs
because it's indian but not a dance number and
that's bullshit yeah and rupa rupa is like you
know Think if our you know, anyone who knows
that name will soon figure out that there's significance
to this name But basically, you know, it plays
out the same like there's that you have you have
that scene where the bullies were like Picking
on lot lol and then you know, he tries to run
with his leg braces and then they break off while
uh rupa yells run lol run you know it doesn't
sound as good but yeah it's like i you know that's
one scene has made us all go like ah there's
the scene and basically um because he runs fast
right uh he you know the they think he catches
the attention of some coaches and they made him
run like track and field and they also made him
like uh Do some parade with the national cadet
corps. Yeah, he joins track and field, right?
Yeah as like a runner. Yes. Yeah, but he never
knows when to stop. Okay Yeah, and he doesn't
even like respond to the sound of the gun to
run he has to hear Rupa yelling Rupa run. Yeah,
and then like she worked and then Rupa is like
working herself as a model. She tries to be like
Miss North India Yeah, which is not a real thing,
I guess. Jenny's dream in the original is to
be a musician. Okay. And in this one, yeah, it's
just to be a model. Yeah, which is definitely
like an actual dream of some women for sure,
but I don't know Miss North India is a thing
or not. Why didn't they just make it Miss India?
Miss me something miss Punjab or me something
like me snobby girl. Yeah, like what is that?
Very specific North India. Yeah, miss North India
and then like one of many instances were like
Lal is like jealous of you know men's attention
towards Rupa like there's one guy named like
Harry This good -looking guy where he like beat
he went to get like go kapas I think yeah, and
then like sees like beats him up and stuff. You'll
see that Think it was like that in the original.
Was it like for a scum defending like Jenny?
Yeah similar is very all similar stuff. And then
at some point we get to see uh, I was gonna say
Indian force lol lol joining the Indian army
He meets like our their equivalent of Baba, which
is Bala And they want to sell starting like a
shrimp shrimp shrimp business a shrimp restaurant
chain. They want to do undergarments because
Because you'll see why Okay, so let's pause first
and talk about the war the war Yeah, they're
going to a war and you know, it's instead of
like the Vietnam War as you see in the original
It's the cargo war. Yeah. Yeah. So first of all,
why are they fighting right? So in the original
They go to the Vietnam War. There was a big draft.
Forrest was not drafted actually, but he just
didn't know what to do after he graduated. University
and someone just handed him, you know, a flyer
and said, you know, do you know what you want
to do with your life? And he's like, sure. So
he does it. And then like Bubba and stuff were
like draftees. And that makes sense. A lot of
people were put into that war. The cargo war,
especially, you know, Forrest's mom's rich or
has money. Why would any of these people volunteer
to be in this war and kill you had an issue with
this too? Yeah, so what is the thing is like
so they were not going to the war they just they
they Joined the army. So once you join the army,
you don't have a say whether to go to the war
or not. So forest joins the army because forest's
motivation i can still get behind because okay
he's like okay he has this heartbroken guy he's
not getting the girl and then that's where i
think he's he's like okay i'll go for the army
or something like that and but this guy bala
the underwear guy i mean he's definitely has
a business in his village making underwear and
then like a business person who is the sole earner
of the family and leaving that business and joining
the army is a very very rare thing and it's like
a it's almost never happens like i mean Yeah,
and the cardinal war wasn't like a galvanizing
war like the Vietnam War, right? And wasn't,
can you explain a bit like how long was it even?
No, it was almost a few months. It was a very,
it's a very, very important point of history
in India Pakistan conflict. Can you explain the
origins? so what happened was original india
pakistan no no no so india finds out suddenly
that there have been like a bunch of gangs of
Pakistan army the mountains there in Kashmir
in Kargil so they have to chase them out so Pakistan
always took a position officially that it was
not their army it was like freedom fighter from
Pakistan but everyone knows that it was Pakistan's
army even Pakistan is admit to that now but the
Pakistan's officially never admitted so it just
started that war that you just encroached on
our land and then just we just fight it back
so it was just a territorial war if this sounds
familiar if you've read the news recently it's
the exact same scenario as what just happened
recently too it seems like an endless fight over
the Kashmir area It was way more serious than
this and it was actually a real encroachment
and what recently happened was a terrorist attack
and India just going and fighting and then like
stuff like that. But that one was a real encroachment
inside the border. I did read there was 1500
Indian casualties and 4000 Pakistani casualties.
Yeah. So they go this war and the other big,
big difference here is the Lieutenant Dan they
meet. So in the original, Forrest ends up saving
some people during some bombing in Vietnam. In
this one, he does the same, but he actually saves
a soldier on the Pakistani side. In the first
movie, they're on the same side. He's like American
soldier. But this one, he saves the Pakistani
guy and brings him back to India, I guess, because
his legs got cut off or something. So anyways,
then he's just in India. This will become important
later, but it's a very big diversion take than
the original film to like save the pakistani
guy then have him become dependent And kind of
grow up in india after that. It's very weird.
He even has like a big flat according to kaylee
It's like in mumbai. Remember like the oh, yeah
That's a complete fake Like a telephone booth
operator. He rents like a telephone booth in
2022 or whatever. So like no one's touching that
and he's able to afford the nicest condo in Mumbai.
Well, that was happening. Rupa was going through
her own like art where she's like meeting some
mobster to become like an action heroine in a
movie. His name is Abbas. Yeah. Like classic
skis ball producer, like you have to have sex
with me to get this role. And she's like, I'm
not Forrest's mom. I don't sleep with people
to help my position. Yeah, she does. Yeah, she
does. You get this like weird like scene where
like, you know, Lyle goes gets like awarded for
being a hero from the Cargill war. And then like
he just walks on the street and happens to like
catch Rupa in the car and he actually runs after
the car. to this like hotel this swanky hotel
and then he sees like the the mobster hitting
rupa which by the way we we did point out there's
a lot of hitting women here oh yeah it's always
christians and muslims beating women yeah and
then like you know he he hits like he he beats
up abbas and then like abbas said something like
oh it's you know it's a good thing i have a lot
of respect for the indian army Nationalism India's
superior, even though I'm a mob star. Thank you
for your service, sir Thanks for punching me
in the face, sir. Thanks for saving cashmere,
sir So like they like there's this like and then
next we have like this like New Year's party
where they're like where lol is sitting at a
bar with Yeah on wheelchair and all and they're
talking about starting the the undergarment business
I am talking about the garments to like the the
bubblegum thing like was interesting because
he's like really into shrimp and stuff. This
guy just makes undergarments and they do have
a very funny like scene where like he does like
Marxism 101 where he explains like how to like
hire multiple garment workers and like how much
they can produce each day and how much they need
to produce total in like a week to sell and how
much profit they can make. It's just like a very
nice graphical explanation of like I don't like
exploit labor. It's just interesting. And then
he breaks it down for Indian Lieutenant Dan.
Yeah. And then we get like another like total
whiplash where like he's just like watching TV
where like the 2006 bombing. OK, so what happens
is like so. So here the Mohammed Paji is not
shown as a Pakistani army person. He is shown
as like a terrorist, like a Islamic terrorist.
And then. He sees the 2006 Mumbai attack, which
was a horrific attack by it was also linked to
Pakistan. It was also linked to Lashkar -e -Taiba.
It's like one of the Pakistani terrorist gang.
So Ajmal Kasab, he was looking at Kasab's footage
on the TV and he realizes that anti -India Propaganda
that he grew up with is still going on in Pakistan
and the youth is like still brainwashed and so
he has to go back to Pakistan to like help Kids
not fall into that Islamic propaganda. It's crazy
He says he's like we've he said himself. He's
like I grew up learning so much hate and Like
thank you so much for like showing me that Indians
are actually really cool and based and you're
the good guys and I'm gonna go back to my home
country and teach them that we're the bad guys
and to stop brainwashing them so they hate Indians
for zero reason. It was a surreal scene. We were
just laughing at how surreal it was. Like how
could you be watching that though and not feel
some sort of way? That's the thing. Like if it's
just Lieutenant Dan with a bunch of hookers in
the original movie, it's fun. But when he's like,
you know, from the other side and just saying
like, yeah, Indians are the best and Pakistan
sucks, I'm going to go. try to make them not
terrorists. That's like a really wild take. Yeah.
So that's what they do with the that's what that's
what I was pointing out with the religion stuff.
Right. So it's like if you point out the bad
side of one belief system in like again and again
and again and you just hype up the other side.
So that's like it's definitely going to look
in a certain way. I mean, that's what the film
was doing. It's it's like. okay i mean there
are terrorists that's a reality but like to say
that oh we are all like that and that's what
that's the only thing we are getting taught and
they learn it in school like they like the schools
breed terrorism is yeah it's crazy it's a wild
take. And then that's where I was like, ah, man,
that sucks. That sucks. And we just need to build
more schools and teach kids not to because kids
are born wanting to murder people in a place
they've never been to. And we just need to teach
them not to. It's already stupid because this
is like one indian man's actions that changed
his mind As if on an individual level you don't
have any nice pakistani people nice indian people
He's like i've never had a friend until you because
pakistani guys suck literally he's like they
were brainwashed But you saved my life now and
my whole opinion about india has changed. Yeah,
because you saved my life It's fucking wild.
So they work together on the undergarment shot.
Yeah Mark, he's the marketer They couldn't they
couldn't get it off the ground at first, right?
Because what is it? Because the name of undergarment
was a male name yeah and they can't sell shit
they cannot stay and they and they literally
give it away for free so they have like scenes
where like it's buy one get four free and nobody's
touching it and they just have so much inventory
what are we gonna do how do we fix it they were
like watching like and then one day they the
entire crew the entire undergarment crew was
like watching like a music video of a woman,
and that's when our favorite Pakistani says,
that's it. Let's change it to a woman's name
for a company. And what's that name? It's Rupa.
The undergarment company Rupa undergarments,
which I don't think a lot of foreigners would
know but it's a huge It's a huge undergarment
company Yeah, that's what even even that scene
happened. Like I was telling you that like that
wait He's like bala is talking about undergarments.
So he's gonna make an undergarment company and
Then I was telling you like rupa name this like
rupa undergarment is he he's like and I don't
know while watching the film was like That's
what it's gonna be like he's gonna make the rupa
undergarment and then when they named bala i
i was telling adam see didn't name it he adam
was like wait it will become rupa eventually
and that's what happens on screen and i was like
oh my god that's crazy and also if i found out
like rupa the undergarment was built in like
1960s yeah i mean yeah that's a promotion i mean
that's okay what's the other price to hear it's
a real company so it actually produces men's
undergarments because in the movie when they
changed it to women's name i was just like i
don't get the logic because it makes no sense
man because because why would people only bite
if it has and that's the other thing like the
guys like just name it after any woman he's like
we just need a woman's name and so he calls it
rupa and then it's just flying off the shelves
when have you ever bought an undergarment when
they changed the name like it's super weird like
i need my underwear to have a woman's name on
it i wonder if i had the same success it was
like fatima undergarments or if that would go
again it doesn't matter just any woman's name
and the thing will sell from a wrong wrong side
but to be honest like i was a loyal customer
of rupa underwear because i used to like the
cut of the the The, what is it called? Benyon?
We call it a wife beater, which is crazy. In
America, we call that a wife beater. It's called
a vest. A vest is the most neutral, but literally
a wife beater. It's like a connotation, like
it's, you know, hicks that wear it. Uh huh. Okay.
Yeah. So yeah, the vest, I was really, I really
liked the cut of the vest. So I was a very loyal
customer. You can bend your arms backwards like
this. Yeah, that's what Bala says. Like, you
know, like it's very important. Anyway in the
original like again, they make bubblegum shrimp,
and that's not a real company became one later
But this one it is like a straight -up just promotion
for Rupa undergarment Paramount was not giving
enough money to the film I guess wild do you
think if the Sherman company name was changed
to Jenny you would buy motion way more I Don't
I mean the reason I don't like Pepsi is because
it's it's not a girl name And I'm just so I don't
know what to do with it. You know that's why
I drink Coca -Cola Koka is Koka's female name
somewhere and so I think and so that's why I
drink it Yeah, so he gets rich from Rupa undergarments
like nonchalantly very casually drops the like
like lols casually drops that he's the CEO Rupa
He still has a sewing machine in his CEO office.
He just loves it. That is the one funny part.
He's like, oh, yeah, I'm the CEO and I make these
myself. And when he's bored, he just makes his
own undergarments, which is very funny to imagine.
He's not exploiting levers. He's exploiting himself.
Yeah, good for him. So he gets loaded and he
decides to go back home because his mom was on
her deathbed. And, you know, he tends to her
and then she she passes away and then. Eventually
Rupa shows up and you know, this is the scene
I think it's exactly the same scene as in Forrest
Gump, you know, they spend time together Reunited
and you know, there's like a there's like a shot
where they're like sitting out and at night and
Lal confesses his love for her and he says but
you won't I Paraphrase it. Okay, you won't have
sex with me because I'm dumb Right. And you know,
that's when, you know, you get that like tender
love scene, which was OK, you know, I have sex.
They're not married. That's pretty good. OK.
But then she like overnight, she is like, I think
in Forrest Gump, she leaves him. That's it. But
in this one, she goes, the police comes after
her. We why? Because she was going to be a whistleblower
for the for the mobster. Yeah. That's that was
it. Interesting. OK, so I have this question
for you in and I think I didn't totally understand
because like I don't speak the language. It was
just subtitles. Is he does he have an accent
and does his character like appear? Does he speak
stupid? Like Forrest Gump has like a southern
accent and kind of talks a little slow. Does
he do the same thing here? Oh, interesting question.
Let me remember that. Uh huh. I'm just curious
because in the original, like, you know, yeah,
Jenny does leave and can't be with him. He does
like love. Jenny wants to marry her, but Jenny
can't be with him. And you get why, like he isn't
a fully developed adult. Like he is slow and
forced gum. And you understand, like she can't
have like a meaningful relationship with him.
He's just not on that level. So you get it. And
again, I just couldn't tell if I didn't understand.
His character in this movie or not, but like
I didn't see a reason why Rupa couldn't be with
him with like Yeah, that was a very I mean, maybe
it's a similar similar Motivation not to be with
him because he's kind of childish but is that
obvious because I just couldn't tell But I don't
remember. So, I mean, I also watched for his
gun probably over a decade ago now I don't remember
but I don't think for his character was also
like unlovable to the degree that not unlovable
issues. He wasn't capable of of of being on that
emotional level he's just too slow so it's not
that like he can't or he's not alone he's very
lovable and she loves him she loves him deeply
but she can't get out of him what a normal adult
relationship would have and that's very obvious
in the movie and so it's not just her it's like
anyone but i'm curious if that is conveyed in
this i don't think the movie kind of drills down
upon that a little bit too much i think that
kind of portray it more as rupa choosing that
because she has the agenda like like hilly said
she wants to become famous so it's just like
a misalignment in desires so that's a big difference
then that's a huge difference then because in
this one like in the original they did want to
be together and jenny loved him but just couldn't
and in this one it just means he is capable of
being in a relationship i felt that way and there's
not a really good reason why she isn't with him
honestly like watching this i don't think the
movie Like, Rupa does not really shine in a very
positive light. I don't remember how Jenny was
portrayed, but I think Rupa, like, in the grand
scheme of things, comes off as a bit selfish
in this movie. And you kind of see her recognize
that towards the end, but then at the same time,
like, she gets with Laosing knowing that she
has the illness. I don't know, it just kind of
seems like a matter of convenience in this movie,
and like, where she doesn't have anyone else,
she has a kid now, so she has to go for him.
I didn't see the... love from her side as being
very genuine. In the original, the love is very
genuine. She is just trying to pursue her dreams
and joins hippies for a while and joins some
political protesters. She is following her heart
and she's constantly punished to the point where
she ends up playing music nude in a strip show
venue and then she gets AIDS and dies. The movie
punishes Jenny. But the love connection is really
strong in that movie. and you still understand
why she can't be with forest even though she
would want to actually but in this one i didn't
feel that from rupa at all i didn't feel the
connection and i feel like he is he could be
in a relationship if you wanted to i didn't get
the character i think also one another motivation
is like when you are dating with a mobster if
you leave him you are you might put life in danger
yours and also like the guy you are going with
so that can be another motivation because when
they connect was that that New Delhi at night
they'd have like a nice romantic walk I mean
that's the first time they connect back right
like he's back from army it's just so that's
point of time like I think one motivation is
she still sees that this relationship will get
her make lander all in Bollywood And she will
become an actor. And also, secondly, she's dating
this huge mobster. And then if she leaves him,
it's going to be it might be fatal for her and
as well as the boy as well. So, I mean, I mean,
yeah, that's a character failing. And then it's
a very different tone anyway. So, yeah, that
that part didn't really work for me because her
motivations are unclear and they don't have a
deep love. connection he loves her a lot i think
you see that in the movie where like he's always
willing to save her he'll come to her rescue
at any time and you almost kind of feel like
her she knows that and she just keeps that as
kind of the safety net but will never prioritize
him the music expresses his feelings too yeah
yeah i don't think adam listened to it since
there was no dance number i did not yeah i actually
was completely zoned out during the music stuff
i did not care i was yeah maybe i read The lyrics
a little too much. I was like staring at the
wall. So yeah, like she, she, you know, she turns,
she turns to the police, uh, ex whistleblower
to a boss and goes to a salon, works at a salon
as a receptionist. Yeah. And at like a nice modern
day salon. Like, okay, whatever. And you know,
just like in Forrest Gump, this, this hurts him
when she leaves him. So he goes running. I don't
know how long in this version, I don't remember.
Four years. Four years? Okay. Same as the original.
Same as the original. Then he runs and runs and...
Those are all the Indian landmarks. Yeah, it
goes through like the Anahasari strike. Yeah,
Anahasari strike. That was a very anti -corruption
movement happening before BJP came to power.
He was like a very dubious person, like at not
that point of time, but later we found out because
he doesn't say a word against the current government
at all. And then in the same run, he runs by
a big Modi poster. So I was like, okay, here
we go. Anyway, big advertisement for Modi. in
very nasty yeah and then you know i guess he
stops running and then decides to wear a turban
that's simply speaking well because while he's
running for four years his hair grows his beard
grows and then he goes home and he looks in the
mirror and he's like oh i finally look like my
grandparents like my grandfather And there's
this really nice scene where they play the Ardas
in the background. There's this prayer. I think
most Sikhs grow up saying it. I remember the
whole thing because I said it every night, even
though I don't remember. I don't understand what
it means. But this is like the Shabad is playing
in the background and he's tying his turban.
That was a nice scene. Why do you think they
made him Sikh in this? You know, I was talking
to Achille about this because the anti -Sikh
riots, they display that and they see him kind
of be in the middle of that. He has a Jura when
he's a young boy and his mom's hiding him, literally
putting her Chunni over him to hide the fact
that he's a Sikh boy. because it's identifiable
with the guy and that's a woman right and so
this moment of desperation she finds like a shard
of glass on the ground and just starts chopping
his hair off um but then then at the end the
movie kind of ends up having a very pro -hindu
narrative so i find it quite ironic that the
main character is seek and you kind of see the
anti -seek riots play out very much at the hands
of muslims And no, I mean, I'm sorry, but very
much at the hands of Hindus Congress Party. And
then at towards the end, it becomes like a pro
-Hindu movie. And you know, this anti -seek riots
was never addressed throughout Indian history.
I think they tried to like set up committees
and all, but there's very limited accountability.
There's been almost little to no prosecute, like
prosecution for people who were responsible for
it. So it's very ironic. It's kind of like, I'm
so curious though, because it is so pro -Hindu
and like, and it's a total choice to make him
seek. here's why i i had the same exact question
as you adam and like i don't know if it was a
slow character so they thought having a sing
would kind of fit the seek i think that they
keep having in in bollywood but i don't know
i think while otherizing every other religion
they needed one ally neutral and like sickism
yeah historically a neutral religion between
islam and hinduism do you think they were trying
to show like this is what a good seek is or something
i don't know i'm just trying to like no no no
no i don't think we'll be placed into that i
think it's just we really rarely has bad seek
characters uh so i think the india carries this
guilt of like bollywood at least carries this
guilt of like anti -sick program and everything
and then They will very rarely have a bad Sikh
character in Bollywood films, to be honest. Singhis
King, we learned that. Singhis King is the best
movie to know how to be a good Sikh. If you really
want to know the story of Sikhism, I think they
should teach it in schools in Pakistan so they
can learn how good Sikhs are. Not a single writer
or anyone was Sikh in that film. Yeah, I'm not
surprised. All right, so Jenny so yeah So as
he wears the turban right that we go to the present
where he's on his way to see Jenny on his way
to see Rupa and you know, we have that same scene,
you know, he meets Rupa and Lo and behold she
has a child and he finds out Indian Haley Joel
Osmond And he's that he's the father. Yeah, and
we find out he's the father and the thing that
Adam showed us that It's an exact replica of
that shot of the scene where like the boy runs
into another like into the TV room and watches
TV also with a also with a Receptionist of a
saloon salary. Okay with that two bedroom apartment
fuck you Or she definitely milked the mobster
before she left him. Oh Yeah, okay Yeah, I showed
those things just because the contrast in acting
is huge I mean you guys saw the the original
just before we recorded did you? Feel I mean
did that stand out as like it's a moving scene.
I think yeah Yeah, that was like very over -the
-top the acting of American was very over -the
-top like when he gets shocked those those two
expressions from like Tom Hanks and Aamir Khan
is like very substantially different but given
like the Bollywood actors acting skills I would
put it like not that bad because the bar is low
for me like when I watch a Hollywood film like
it's most of the time the actors are acting way
better than the standard Bollywood actors yeah
but they're capable of it but I just think he
doesn't trust it again he like falls on the script
to explain what he's feeling like is the sun
dumb like me and he just doesn't carry it the
music hits too hard and I think that's just the
big difference between like why literally no
one else except tom hanks can really pull this
off that's the script writing 101 tail don't
show yeah thanks movie I'm feeling I hope my
kid isn't stupid like me is he? that's borrowed
from pitch meeting yeah and yeah I guess we can
just wrap it up it ends with you know Rupa falling
into sickness. Wait, they they marry they marry
first. They have a very nice marriage with like
a musical number. Yeah, and And then I lost my
train. She doesn't die from AIDS. She does not
die. That's what I was gonna say she doesn't
die from AIDS, but Cancer she doesn't like some
virus millionaires wife never could be diagnosed
like what what ailment is She went through the
final destination Machine we'll figure out what's
wrong with you And then she gets like killed
by like a Prince Charles piercing that goes through
that guy into her face bending her body like
That's how uh, yeah, she just ups and vanishes
from the face of the earth And then yeah, I just
you know, you get this like tinder ending scene
where you know, uh lal is sending off his sending
his kid off to school and then he like Sits with
his was it a box of gaffas? I don't remember
but they're like, yeah, and then like feather
goes out and yeah, that that's it That's our
that's that's the last thing chata Yay guys,
but her name leaves on in every man's underwear
So the fear stair scale number one is there a
staircase moment for you in this movie Not really
because like it's so close to the original forest
gum that you can kind of see everything coming
Yeah, except the Pakistani lieutenant Dan. That
is true. That is true when he talks about opening
up a school to unbrainwashed people. Yeah, that
was a wild out of the blue thing. For me, kind
of was like when Rupa has a kid, but like she
never tried to stop or contact Forrest being
a millionaire. Like she knows her son is a millionaire.
It's I mean, this guy who would do anything for
her. She has a son and then never contacts. He
could fund a movie where she's the heroine. Yeah.
Yeah. Let's think about this. Oh, yeah. Yes.
All right. Next dance floor clause. Was there
a musical number? No. No, there wasn't. There
was music. Yeah. Which I like I think this well
really it was like two soft songs, right? Yeah,
I don't think we need dance numbers. I guess
Adam likes it But well, if you're gonna make
a Bollywood like Forrest Gump movie, I mean,
come on, but it's all about his feelings towards
Rupa That's that was it. I remember like it was
just the same thing Family feud factor It's forced
Rupa's Rupa's dad beating the shit out of her
his mama out of the mom in the in the original
he molests Jenny Oh, yeah, she gets molested
by her dad in the original father No her dad
and then And he goes to jail in this one. He
just beats the mom and actually beats like she
ends up dying her mom Yeah, and I will say the
really funny part is then she goes to live with
her grandma and the grandma is Law Singh Chaddha's
servant In this one. And so then she like lives
in his house, which is like that's nothing like
the original. But yeah, the grandma actually
happens to be like their servant, which is weird.
Family feud. Yeah, not much. Not much. Family
is the greatest place to be. Thanks, Kelly. Those
are wise words. Spice level. Regional heat check.
Kelly, was this culturally or regionally accurate?
I don't know. I guess so. Yeah, or no, but like
Golgappa doesn't come in a box. So yeah. Yeah,
big X on that one. That's not how you eat it.
They do depict a lot of Indian historical events
quite well, I'd say. But then at the end, becoming
a pro Hindutva, BJP movie kind of ruins any regional
heat. And that brings us to our last one, The
Moral. How'd the movie leave you feeling? Or
what's the movie's message? That's the message
I got was like Pakistanis are like trained to
hate people All right, thanks for tuning in This
this movie's on Netflix. So if you guys want
to watch it go ahead I don't know. Would you
recommend it? If you're curious only if you if
you're a huge fan of Forrest Gump and when I
say huge fan I mean like really huge fan because
Forrest Gump is just one of those movies that
People are now looking at it in a different lens
Today, yeah, it's just one of those movies that
doesn't fly right in in a modern undermining
all the black achievements like if You know you
want to like study kind of acting It's really
good good to like watch a movie with the exact
same character in the exact same events and kind
of contrast Otherwise, yes, save it. Yeah, it's
funny because I was so eager to watch this but
after watching and I'm just like it's kind of
Yeah, and that was the audience's reaction to
it too. Alright, see you guys next time. Thanks
for listening.