5 life lessons from Forrest Gump, the original Laal Singh Chaddha

Aamir Khan will release the trailer of his highly anticipated film, Laal Singh Chaddha during the final match of IPL 2022, on May 29. The film is inspired from the 1994 Hollywood movie, Forrest Gump, which won 6 Academy Awards and has been touted as one of the greatest movies of all time.

Forrest Gump got the Academy Award for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Actor for Tom Hanks. It was also the second highest grossing movie of 1994, behind The Lion King.

The film will chronicle the historical events in India during the life of Laal Singh Chaddha, an autistic man who has a deep understanding of emotions. Khan is stepping into the shoes of Tom Hanks, who essayed the role of Forrest Gump, an intellectually disabled man in the movie.

WHAT WORKED FOR FORREST GUMP?

What clicked with viewers in the movie are the riveting human emotions which are beautifully portrayed through the eyes of Forrest Gump. Be it Gump parting from his childhood love Jenny, or coming across his 6-year-old child years later, the film leaves a solid impression on your heart and mind, and leaves you buzzing with emotions.

The trailer of Laal Singh Chaddha drops soon, and before you watch that, take a look at the 5 biggest lessons from the movie Forrest Gump.

1. NEVER LOSE HOPE

The biggest takeaway from the movie is to never lose hope in life. Forrest Gump is a character who was rejected by the society in his childhood itself. His crooked spine and the braces in his legs made him appear different. And as society does with people who appear 'different', he was bullied and had to bear the worst.

But Gump, who battles mental as well as physical deformities, doesn’t lose hope. He continues to struggle and conquers his challenges.

2. TRUE LOVE STAYS

Forrest Gump develops a deep attachment for his childhood love, Jenny (Robin Wright). Jenny, who is a victim of sexual abuse by her own father, comes across Forrest Gump later in his life. She never marries Forrest. Forrest, undeterred by the rejections of Jenny, holds on to a faint hope in his heart for her.

In the end, she does return to Gump, but to only leave him forever. She leaves a child behind, who Forrest cares for after her death.

3. TURN YOUR WEAKNESSES INTO YOUR STRENGTHS  

The life of Forrest Gump teaches you to turn your weaknesses into your biggest strengths. The braces in Forrest’s legs aren't able to stop him from running, out of which he eventually carves a career for himself.

He gets into the university due to his running, gets through the US Army, and in the end, gains nationwide attention because of the same. Gump makes sure that his intellectual shortcoming and physical deformity don’t chain him. He instead uses them to build his destiny.

4. LIFE IS ALL ABOUT STRUGGLES

There’s a famous phrase, life is not a bed of roses. This phrase holds true for all of our lives. Forrest Gump, like you and me, is fighting a war with himself. But then, he goes on to win the Medal of Honor from the US President for his work in Vietnam.

It tells us that the one who fights and never gives up emerges victorious in the end.

5. YOU CAN’T REPAY YOUR PARENTS

The only person who believed in Forrest Gump was his mother. In one of the scenes of the movie, she says to Forrest, “You are the same as everyone else. You are no different, Forrest.”

She instills belief in her child that he can be anything he wants to be.  

This tells us that whatever our parents have done for us, can never be paid back.