Some of the Bollywood’s superstars including Anil Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Abhishek Bachchan and others will be lending their voices for the Hindi version of Andy Serkis’ fantasy adventure film Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle. The film is based on Rudyard Kipling’s famous The Jungle Book. The Hindi voice cast also includes Madhuri Dixit and Jackie Shroff, the streaming giant said in a statement.
Abhishek will voice Bagheera, the black panther who is a friend, protector and mentor to the "man-cub" Mowgli. In the English version, Oscar winner Christian Bale has voiced the character.
Kapoor is taking on the role of beloved bear Baloo, played by Serkis himself in the film, while Shroff will voice the villainous Bengal tiger, Shere Khan, which was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch in the English version.
Madhuri and Kareena will provide the voice work for python Kaa and female wolf Nisha. Actors Cate Blanchett and Naomie Harris did the voice work for the two characters in the English version. Previously, Priyanka Chopra’s lent her voice to Kaa in the Hindi version of the Jungle Book which released in 2016.
The streaming giant also announced that actor Freida Pinto, who plays Mowgli's adoptive mother Messua, will also do the voice work in Hindi.
The India-set film will have its world premiere on November 25 in Mumbai with its lead cast -- Serkis, Bale, Pinto and newcomer Rohan Chand -- in attendance.
The trailer of "Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle" was launched at Netflix's See What’s Next: Asia event held in Singapore earlier this week.