Changes: Chattar Lal

Revision as of 01:15, 16 November 2017

Chattar Lal was the Prime Minister of Pankot in 1935 and a secret Thuggee member.

Biography

Well-spoken and outwardly demure, Chattar Lal seemed to have the makings of an able politician. He was a graduate of Oxford University and served as Prime Minister to Maharajah Zalim Singh. As the Maharajah was still a minor, it was largely apparent that Lal took care of most of the day-to-day operations of the region. However, Lal was secretly a fanatical member of the murderous Thuggee, devoted to worshiping Kali Ma with human sacrifice. Through regularly administered doses of psychotropic drugs, he subjugated the you g Maharajah, thus allowing the Thuggee to operate with impunity inside Pankot until 1935, when Indiana Jones, on a mission to recover the Sankara Stone for the people of Mayapore, appeared outside the Pankot Palace gates.

Lal greeted Jones and his friends at the palace, and conversed with Jones on the subject of the Thuggee while at a state dinner headed by the young maharajah. At first he dismissed reports of the Thuggee cult as stories Jones may have picked up from his time spent at the village, but when Jones persisted, Lal became outright defensive, recalling some of the archaeologist's disreputable past escapades. Jones, realizing the inappropriateness of criticizing his hosts, apologized for shooting his mouth off, but not before the Maharajah made a sympathetic statement that at one time there were indeed Thuggees in his kingdom and their like would not return under his rule.

Later, as Jones, Short Round, and Willie Scott discovered the Temple of Doom below Pankot Palace, Lal was present in his Thuggee worshiping attire. After Jones was forced to drink from the Chalice of Kali, Lal assisted in the main temple. When Short Round escaped from slavery and arrived to rescue Jones, Lal fought with the liberated Jones, and briefly undid Jones' effort to raise the cage containing the sacrifice victim, Scott. Despite wielding a large knife, Lal was defeated, thrown over the large wheel controlling the winch, and was seriously crushed by the wheel, which stopped, keeping Scott from being lowered in to the fiery pit. Lal's body was moved out from under the wheel, so that Jones could re-raise Scott to safety. However, while Jones and Short Round helped free Scott, Lal apparently made his getaway.

Though injured in the battle, Lal escaped the palace with a good amount of stolen treasure. The British then kept a vigilant eye out for Lal should he try to establish another Kali temple.^[1]^[2]

Behind the scenes

Chattar Lal was played by veteran actor Roshan Seth in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Seth later went on to play Sheik Kamal in Tales of Innocence.

350x700px-LL-69e5f0ce deleted scene 2 — Indiana Jones fighting Chattar Lal in a deleted scene.

In earlier versions of the script, written by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, Lal attempts to attack Jones in the Thuggee cavern but is knocked into the lava pit, dying in the process.^[3] Although this scene was cut from the finished film, this fate for Lal is included in the film's novelization and the Marvel's comic book adaptation.

In LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, Indy and Short Round must rescue Willie Scott and defeat Lal whose body bursts into LEGO pieces when Indy triggers the heated floors Lal is standing on. In the game's sequel, however, Lal is absent on most consoles but still available to play in the PSP version.

Appearances

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (First appearance)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom novel
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom comic
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (Non-canonical appearance)
LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (Non-canonical appearance) (PSP version)

Sources

Notes and references

[1] Chattar Lal's Marshall College entry on IndianaJones.com (backup link on Archive.org)

[2] Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Sourcebook

[3] The Complete Making of Indiana Jones

[1]

[2]

[3]

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 ==Biography==
-Well-spoken and outwardly demure, Chattar Lal seemed to have the makings of an able politican. He was a graduate of [[Oxford University]] and served as Prime Minister to [[Zalim Singh|Maharajah Zalim Singh]]. As the Maharajah was still a minor, it was largely apparent that Chattar Lal took care of most of the day-to-day operations of the region. However, Lal was secretly a fanatical member of the murderous [[Thuggee]], devoted to worshiping [[Kali Ma]] with human sacrifice. Through regularly administered doses of psychotropic drugs, he subjugated Pankot's young ruler, the [[Zalim Singh|Maharajah Zalim Singh]], thus allowing the Thuggee to operate with impunity inside Pankot until [[1935]], when [[Indiana Jones]], on a mission to recover the [[Sankara Stones|Sankara Stone]] for the people of [[Mayapore]], appeared outside the [[Pankot Palace]] gates.
+Well-spoken and outwardly demure, Chattar Lal seemed to have the makings of an able politician. He was a graduate of [[Oxford University]] and served as Prime Minister to [[Zalim Singh|Maharajah Zalim Singh]]. As the Maharajah was still a minor, it was largely apparent that Lal took care of most of the day-to-day operations of the region. However, Lal was secretly a fanatical member of the murderous [[Thuggee]], devoted to worshiping [[Kali Ma]] with human sacrifice. Through regularly administered doses of psychotropic drugs, he subjugated the you g Maharajah, thus allowing the Thuggee to operate with impunity inside Pankot until [[1935]], when [[Indiana Jones]], on a mission to recover the [[Sankara Stones|Sankara Stone]] for the people of [[Mayapore]], appeared outside the [[Pankot Palace]] gates.
-Lal greeted Jones and his friends at the palace, and conversed with Jones on the subject of the Thuggee while at a [[The Guardian of Tradition Dinner|state dinner]] headed by the young maharajah. At first he dismissed reports of the Thuggee cult as stories Jones may have picked up from his time spent at the village, but when Jones persisted, Lal became outright defensive, recalling some of the archaeologist's disreputable past escapades. Jones, realizing the inappropriateness of criticizing his hosts, apologized for shooting his mouth off, but not before the Maharajah made a sympathetic statement that at one time there were indeed Thuggees in his kingdom and their like would not return.
+Lal greeted Jones and his friends at the palace, and conversed with Jones on the subject of the Thuggee while at a [[The Guardian of Tradition Dinner|state dinner]] headed by the young maharajah. At first he dismissed reports of the Thuggee cult as stories Jones may have picked up from his time spent at the village, but when Jones persisted, Lal became outright defensive, recalling some of the archaeologist's disreputable past escapades. Jones, realizing the inappropriateness of criticizing his hosts, apologized for shooting his mouth off, but not before the Maharajah made a sympathetic statement that at one time there were indeed Thuggees in his kingdom and their like would not return under his rule.
 Later, as Jones, [[Short Round]], and [[Willie Scott]] discovered the [[Temple of Doom]] below Pankot Palace, Lal was present in his Thuggee worshiping attire. After Jones was forced to drink from the [[Chalice of Kali]], Lal assisted in the main temple. When Short Round escaped from slavery and arrived to rescue Jones, Lal fought with the liberated Jones, and briefly undid Jones' effort to raise the cage containing the sacrifice victim, Scott. Despite wielding a large knife, Lal was defeated, thrown over the large wheel controlling the winch, and was seriously crushed by the wheel, which stopped, keeping Scott from being lowered in to the fiery pit. Lal's body was moved out from under the wheel, so that Jones could re-raise Scott to safety. However, while Jones and Short Round helped free Scott, Lal apparently made his getaway.