Mona Singh defends Laal Singh Chaddha age difference: ‘I’m not playing Aamir Khan’s mother, I’m playing Laal’s mother’

Mona Singh has defended her casting as the mother of Aamir Khan's character in Laal Singh Chaddha. Mona is 17 years younger than Aamir in real life.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | August 13, 2022 09:46 AM IST

3 min read

Mona Singh essays the role of Aamir Khan's mother in Laal Singh Chaddha.

Actor Mona Singh has spoken about the 17-year age-gap between her and Aamir Khan, which has caused a bit of a stir because she’s playing his character’s mother in the recently released film Laal Singh Chaddha. A remake of the Hollywood hit Forrest Gump, Laal Singh Chaddha stars Aamir in the titular role, with Mona playing his mom. Many of her scenes are with a young Laal.

In an interview with India Today, the actor addressed the criticisms, and said, “There was the whole thing going on. I didn’t want to talk about it before because I wanted people to see the movie. And I am an actor. I am not playing Aamir Khan’s mother, I am playing Laal’s mother. As Laal ages, I age in the movie.” She added, “It is not an Aamir Khan biopic where he is 57 and I am 40 and playing a mother. That would be wrong. Honestly, it did not once cross my mind that I might be doing the wrong thing. I was so confident and sure that most people would not question the age gap once they watched the film.”

Also read | Laal Singh Chaddha box office collection day 2: Aamir Khan’s labour of love is losing steam already, has 40% drop

Mona also spoke about the boycott campaigns surrounding the film’s release, which might have impacted its box office performance and its IMDb rating. She said, “I was very sad. I mean, what has Aamir Khan done to deserve this? He is a guy who has always entertained us for the last 30 years. But I was very confident that the boycotters would come around once they started seeing that the film is resonating with every Indian.”

Previously, Aamir had also spoken about Mona’s casting in the film. Pinkvilla quoted him as saying, “I want to ask you a question that as an actor, as a creative person, if I’m looking 103, which I’m supposed to, why is my age inappropriate to play the role? Just because I am 57. What is the logic? Age specific kya hota hai actor ke liye? Actor ka toh yeh kamaal hota hai ke woh kuch bhi age ka ho aur kuch bhi age lage. (What is age-specific for an actor? An actor can play characters who are not their age and that is the beauty of it).”

Laal Singh Chaddha has had a disappointing opening at the box office. In two days of release, the film has failed to crack the Rs 20 crore mark.

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