Netflix has roped in Bollywood biggies, Abhishek Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Kareena Kapoor, Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff for their original film, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle which is hitting the streaming service on 7 December.
At the Hindi trailer launch of the film, Abhishek opened up about choosing to play Bagheera and why Mowgli is different from other adaptations of Rudyard Kipling’s classic The Jungle Book.
I wanted to do the film for Aaradhya. When I told her I’m playing Bagheera, she was thrilled. She has not seen all our films, she loves to read and is busy with her books. But I am keen to show her this movie. I have grown up on The Jungle Book, and now my daughter is also a part of it.Abhishek Bachchan
Abhishek stated that the Andy Serkis-directed version is the most honest retelling of Kipling’s book. He added that the appeal of the text is such that it works with every age.
What’s wonderful about the story that Kipling wrote is that it appeals to every age group through time. When I was a kid in the early 80s and when we watched The Jungle Book (the animated Disney film), our favourite character was Baloo because he was the fun-loving guy and as a kid you like that. But as you grow older, your choices change and as an adult, you prefer a character like Bagheera because he represents certain responsibilities and values. So what’s really nice is that whatever stage of your life you watch this film or read the story, there is something for everyone. There’s great sense of values, morals, principles, learnings, teachings that you can imbibe and take away,Abhishek Bachchan
Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle held its world premiere in Mumbai on 25 November. The film starts streaming on Netflix from December 7.
With inputs from: Mid-Day, The Indian Express
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