Priyanka, Irrfan in Hindi ‘Jungle Book’

Bollywood stars Priyanka Chopra, Irrfan Khan, Nana Patekar, Om Puri and Shefali Shah will lend their voice to the Hindi version of Disney’s upcoming live-action release, The Jungle Book.

The film is a re-imagining of Walt Disney’s 1967 animated movie of the same name and stars Indian-American actor Neel Sethi as Mowgli.

The English film features the voice talents of Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito and Christopher Walken.

In the Hindi version, Chopra will voice Kaa, the python, which has been voiced by Johansson in the US film.

Khan will voice the friendly bear Baloo, while Dil Dhadakne Do actress Shah will dub for Raksha, the wolf.

Veteran actor Puri will voice Bagheera, the black panther.

Nana Patekar will once again voice Shere Khan — a character he did for the animated series Jungle Book: The Adventures of Mowgli on Indian TV channel Doordarshan in the 1990s.

“The Jungle Book is so very special to India, and we want our audience to enjoy Disney’s all-new live-action adaptation. We wanted nothing but the best for the Hindi version of the film,” said Amrita Pandey, vice-president - studios, Disney India.

“We are so excited to have such veterans and A-list actors come together to voice and bring alive these beloved characters making it like a high-scale Hindi film.”

The Jungle Book is directed by Jon Favreau, and is based on a collection of Rudy Kipling’s adventure stories based in India.

The Indian audience will get to watch the movie on April 8, a week before its US release. The film will release in the UAE on April 14.