Disney’s 3D-enhanced live action version of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book is opening in India a week ahead of its American release.
The Jungle Book Jon Favreau (the first two Iron Man films, Chef) directs the live action version of Rudyard Kipling’s nineteenth-century adventures about a feral child who is brought up by wolves¸ befriends Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear, and vanquishes the man-eating tiger Shere Khan. Indian-origin actor Neel Sethi, who has only appeared in a short film before this big-budget spectacle, is the only human in a cast of computer-generated forest creatures. The A-list voice talent includes Bill Murray as Baloo, Ben Kingsley as Bagheera, Idris Elba as Shere Khan, Scarlett Johansson as Kaa, Lupita Nyong’s as Mowgli’s lupine mother Raksha, Giancarlo Esposito as the wise wolf Akayla, and Christopher Walken as the simian King Louie. The movie is also being released in a Hindi dubbed version.
Love Games Since The Jungle Book is being marketed as the big Hindi film release of the week, Vikram Bhatt’s for-adults-only Love Games has been relegated to second place. Bhatt’s self-declared “bold film” is about swingers, and follows the bedroom adventures of characters played by Patralekha, Tara Alisha Berry and Gaurav Arora. The film has apparently been inspired by Bhatt’s own experiences: “I have not done that (swinging) so much myself, but I have seen that life up close and personal.”
Sardaar Gabbar Singh Buoyed by the box office love showered on the Hindi dub of SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali, Telugu superstar Pawan Kalyan is trying to expand his fan base beyond Andhra Pradesh and the diaspora. Sardaar Gabbar Singh, written by the 44-year-old action hero, has been directed by KS Ravindra, who has previously made Power (2014). Packed with gravity-defying stunts designed to showcase the machismo of its leading man, the movie has recruited Kajal Aggarwal for romantic relief and television heartthrob Sharad Kelkar as the villain.
The Blueberry Hunt Anup Kurian’s debut feature was Mansarovar (2004), and his second movie has been ready since 2011. The Blueberry Hunt stars Naseeruddin Shah as the owner of an estate in Vagamon in Kerala that comes under attack when a high-potency marijuana crop gets ready to be harvested. The film also has Vipin Sharma, Vinay Fortt, PJ Unnikrishnan, Aahana Kumra (playing a hostage) and a handsome-looking German shepherd dog named Kuttappan.
Demolition Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club, Wild) directs this drama about an investment banker (Jake Gyllenhaal) who struggles to cope with the sudden death of his wife. With the help of a customer service executive (Naomi Watts), Davis (Gyllenhaal) begins to pick up the pieces. Chris Cooper plays Davis’s father-in-law.