Laal Singh Chaddha, Aamir Khan's take on the 1994 Hollywood film Forrest Gump, has found itself facing a barrage of criticisms - some valid, some not so valid. While we are ignoring the vile #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha Twitter trend that merely exist to spread hate, there are other controversies facing the upcoming August release that cannot be dismissed as easily. Like Aamir Khan's err... 'acting' as a 'special' person, and casting of a younger Mona Singh as his mother. In real life, Mona Singh is just 40 years old, while Aamir Khan is 17 years her senior. I Feel Sad: Aamir Khan on 'Boycott Laal Singh Chaddha' Twitter Trend.

Aamir recently defended her casting in an interview to Indian Express and called it as part of 'acting'. He tried to explain her casting by using a different scenario, where he said, "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?" Yes, Aamir, what's the logic here? How does casting a younger actress as your mother makes sense to you playing a 103 year old man?

Aamir further tried to explain Mona's casting, this time praising her as a performer, by saying, "This is Mona Singh’s brilliance. When you will see her in the film, you will think that she is looking very young. You will also feel that she is looking old as well. It is her brilliance. You are snatching away her good work. This is wrong. Had I been in her place, I would have been very disturbed." Chiranjeevi Wants This Part Removed From His ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ Interview With Aamir Khan (Watch Video).

Watch the Trailer of Laal Singh Chaddha:

Whether you agree with Aamir Khan's explanations (or excuses) is up to you, but Aamir can surely take solace in the fact that the inspiration for his film - Forrest Gump - also did something similar with the casting of Tom Hanks' mother in the movie. Though the age disparity wasn't as wide and weird as LSC.

If you have seen the original, you would know that two-time Oscar winner Sally Field played the role of the mother. While she is certainly older than her 'onscreen' son in real life, the age difference is merely nine years. But that's not the interesting factor here.

Watch a Scene From Forrest Gump:

Six years before the release of Forrest Gump, Sally Field and Tom Hanks starred in a film called Punchline. In the movie, they both play aspiring stand-up comedians, who are competitors and later, friends. Tom Hanks' character is seen developing a romantic interest for Field's older, much-married character, though the latter doesn't reciprocate his feelings in the same manner. Cut to 1994, she ends up playing his Mama and teaches him about life and boxes of chocolates. PS: Let's not forget that when Tom Hanks did Forrest Gump, he was 38, while Aamit is doing its remake at the age of 57.  Tom Hanks Birthday Special: From Splash to News of the World, 11 Awesome Movie Quotes of the Actor That Are Quite Underrated!

Watch the trailer of Punchline:

At least, Aamir can say he didn't that sort of stunt-casting, though he recently did a reverse sort of such a casting. In Thugs of Hindostan, the movie hinted at a growing attraction between Aamir Khan's character and Fatima Sana Shaikh's, while just a couple of years back, she had played his daughter in Dangal. Thankfully, while TOH had its major share of problems, it didn't expand on that hint of attraction, and left it as that, thereby not making things more awkward.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 02, 2022 02:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).