Shah Rukh Khan announced on 17 June that he and his eldest son Aryan would be voicing the characters of Mufasa and Simba respectively in the Hindi version of the live-action remake of The Lion King which releases on 19 July. On Father’s Day, which also saw a Cricket World Cup 2019 match between India and Pakistan, the two posed for a picture in Indian cricket team jerseys with Mufasa and Simba written on them instead of their names.
Twitter, however, appears to have mixed feelings about the development with many accusing Aryan of landing the role because of nepotism in the industry.
Film critic Raja Sen pointed out that while the Hollywood version of The Lion King has heavyweights such as Donald Glover lending their voice for the film, Aryan hardly has the experience to match his Hollywood counterparts even though he had previously voiced Dash in 2004 film The Incredibles.
One Twitter user took the opportunity to make a creative pun...
While another reminded viewers that The Lion King originally stirred controversy for its resemblance to Japanese anime series Kimba the White Lion.
But, of course, there are plenty of Shah Rukh Khan fans who are excited to watch the Hindi version of the film. “I'm totally averse to dubbed movies but i'm going to make an exception just so @iamsrk could potentially ruin my childhood #TheLionKing” wrote one user.
Speaking about dubbing with his son for such an iconic film, Shah Rukh Khan said in a statement, “The Lion King’ is that one movie that my entire family loves the most and it holds a very special place in our hearts. As a father, I can totally relate with Mufasa and the endearing relationship he shares with his son - Simba.”
The live action remake of The Lion King has been directed by Jon Favreau, the man behind Iron Man (2008) and The Jungle Book (2016), and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It features Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé as Nala, and James Earl Jones reprising his role as Mufasa. Hans Zimmer returns to give the film its background score while Elton John is set to rework some of his original compositions.
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