Mowgli Legend of the Jungle is the most honest retelling of The Jungle Book: Abhishek Bachchan

In the English version of the film, director Andy Serkis has voiced Baloo himself. Anil Kapoor found his work inspiring and shared that whenever he would feel stuck at any point, he would go back and listen to Andy’s version over and over again. “I have to be very honest that whenever I got stuck, I would hear his voice again and again and understand what he must be thinking while performing,” Anil shared.

Abhishek Bachchan was present at the trailer launch too. He voices Bagheera in the film while Christian Bale voices the same character in the English version. Bachchan shared that Serkis’ version is the most honest retelling of Kipling’s book. He shared that the appeal of the text is such that it works with every age.

See photos from the Hindi trailer launch of Mowgli: Legend Of the Jungle in Mumbai:

Christian Bale, Madhuri Dixit, Abhishek Bachchan, Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Rohan Chand, Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Andy Serkis were present at the Hindi trailer launch of Mowgli: Legend Of the Jungle in Mumbai. (Photo: Varinder Chawla)

Anil Kapoor voices Baloo in the Hindi version of Mowgli: Legend Of the Jungle. (Photo: Varinder Chawla)

Anil Kapoor and Andy Serkis strike a pose at the Hindi trailer launch of Mowgli: Legend Of the Jungle. (Photo: Varinder Chawla)

Freida Pinto, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Madhuri Dixit pose for photographers at the Hindi trailer launch of Mowgli: Legend Of the Jungle. (Photo: Varinder Chawla)

Kareena Kapoor Khan is all smiles at the Hindi trailer launch of Mowgli: Legend Of the Jungle. (Photo: Varinder Chawla)

Madhuri Dixit voices wolf mother Nisha in the Hindi version of Mowgli: Legend Of the Jungle. (Photo: Varinder Chawla)

Anil Kapoor and Andy Serkis pose for photographers at the Hindi trailer launch of Mowgli: Legend Of the Jungle. (Photo: Varinder Chawla)

Rohan Chand and Louis Ashbourne Serkis attended the Hindi trailer launch of Mowgli: Legend Of the Jungle. (Photo: Varinder Chawla)

Christian Bale and Abhishek Bachchan pose for photographers at the Hindi trailer launch of Mowgli: Legend Of the Jungle. (Photo: Varinder Chawla)

Christian Bale takes in the proceedings at the Hindi trailer launch of Mowgli: Legend Of the Jungle. (Photo: Varinder Chawla)

“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 said.

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle is the first big Netflix film that hosted its premiere in India on Sunday. The films starts streaming on December 7.