My
earliest memories of crying are not from days when I was subjected to parental
rebuke as a kid. I was as such a no fuss child (that's what I've often been
told). Rather I recall distinct images of me turning inconsolable when I missed
my weekly dose of Mowgli and his lovable family of wolves, extending to the
protective duo of Bagheera and Baloo. Power cuts or the TV going out of order
were just a couple of reasons. If I missed the show the whole day felt wasted
leaving within me a feeling of emptiness and loss. When I saw Jon Favreau's
Jungle Book, I was once again excited like a twelve year old. Now that a couple
of decades have flown by, in between the days of the Hindi dubbed animated show
on Doordarshan and its Hollywood reimagination, I happily wonder as to what
makes Kipling's masterpiece such an important part in the annals of storytelling
and what is going to make the latest version of its cinematic adaptation a
milestone among motion pictures. What's going to keep it immune to the rust of
time. It's not only the fantastic CGI (in the new edition they have it a combo
of CGI and Live Action - Photorealistic Rendering - using Motion Capture
techniques) or the perfect animation or the awe inspiring background voices by
phenomenal actors. What shall really always stand out about the Jungle Book are
its inimitable story line and its relatable characters.
Mowgli is the perfect symbol of innocence and
intelligence, always finding his way in the wild, always retaining his heart
amidst the wilderness of the jungle, daring the dense forest, far away from any
semblance of humanity. What has stayed with me is the kind of undiluted and
abiding love depicted between the characters. Watching Mowgli I was invariably
assured as a child of the goodness in the world, particularly when his family
of animals stood by him against their sinister fellow forest dwellers. There's
this scene where Mowgli's adoptive wolf mother tells him, as he sets out on a
journey of self discovery, that no matter where he goes he will always remain
her son. There is such tremendous depth in that utterance (fair credit must go
for that to Lupita Nyongo for her voice). That is the kind of thing that stands
out for me in the film. The essence of feelings and attachment that transcends
species. The deeper connect we may sometimes find with ones who enjoy no tag of
relation with us. And then discover the greatest experience of love, bonding
and sacrifice with them. There are big lessons of life to be learnt from
Kipling's characters given that we have the heart to see beyond their animated performances.
I have learnt that Neel Sethi won the casting chance
for Mowgli after a massive hunt in auditions. He is impressive. The voices of
Idris Elba (for Shere Khan) may have been more sinister. If I may take you back
to the tone of the majestic Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia rendered by
Liam Neeson, the choice was perfect because it conveyed the greatness and nobility
of the character, which is not quite the case with Shere Khan. Elba, to me,
never possessed that amount of ruthlessness which defined Shere Khan. But there
couldn’t have been a better choice than Ben Kingsley to speak for Bagheera. Kaa is brought to life
by the sensuous Scarlet Johansson; who else could have given voice to the
seductive moodiness of the python. The action scenes are thrilling. I read somewhere
that Fraveau wanted to shoot in real forest settings but he was convinced by
the producers to take advantage of the present time technology in transporting
the jungle to the screen without actually braving the wild. And it seems to have
worked out too well for the makers.
I have a strong feeling that watching the 2016 edition
of Jungle Book is going to be an unforgettable experience for everyone. Go
watch it if you haven’t yet and return into the dreamy world of childhood we
all once lived in.
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