‘Laal Singh Chaddha failed because of my shortcomings as a performer’: Aamir Khan takes blame for the film misfiring

Aamir Khan, whose ambitious project, Laal Singh Chaddha, turned out to be a failure, says it was his failure as a performer that impacted the film.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | April 30, 2024 04:39 PM IST

3 min read

Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor's Laal Singh Chaddha dropped on Netflix India after theatrical release.

For Aamir Khan, making Laal Singh Chaddha, the official Hindi adaptation of Tom Hanks’ critically acclaimed film Forrest Gump, was a dream come true. However, its unexpected failure left the actor, hurt. In a candid admission on The Great Indian Kapil Show, Aamir acknowledged the disappointment surrounding his film Laal Singh Chaddha which also features Kareena Kapoor Khan. Admitting responsibility for its shortcomings, he shared his heartbreak over the audience’s lukewarm response and attributed it to possible oversights during production. Reflecting on the experience, he vowed to learn from his mistakes and refine his craft in future films.

Known as ‘Mr Perfectionist’ in the industry, Aamir opened up about the debacle, taking responsibility for the film’s failure. He expressed his emotional toll, saying, “I was heartbroken because we put in a lot of effort into making the film and each of us put our heart and soul into it”. Recognising the possibility of something amiss that led to the audience’s dissatisfaction, he acknowledged, “Par koi kami reh gayi tabhi shayad audience ko pasand nahin aayi (There was something amiss and that is why the audience didn’t like the film).”

Diving deeper into self-critique, Aamir pinpointed areas of his performance that he felt were lacking. “I took my performance to a high pitch and couldn’t hold it together throughout the film. It was my shortcoming as a performer, and I won’t repeat it in the next film,” he shared, adding, “Throughout my career, I have learnt more from mistakes than success.”

Earlier this year, Aamir, while speaking at ABP Ideas of India Summit 3.0, opened up about the film not receiving the desired response or praise. He said, “It’s a film close to my heart. Advait, Kareena and the whole cast and crew worked hard and it didn’t do well. Two things happened, after a long time my film didn’t work, so family and friends would come home to ask me, ‘If I’m okay?’ I realised that I’m getting a lot of love after a flop. That was the funny side of it. The real side is, failure teaches you what really has gone wrong. It gives you an opportunity to understand what was your mistake in terms of communicating that story.”

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