"Jungle Jungle baat chali hai pata chala hai..
Arre chaddi pehen ke phool khila hai phool khila hai..."
This song is perhaps what stayed with most viewers of the "The Jungle Book" animated series which was aired in Doordarshan in the 90s.
And now, a new version of the classic, which will feature in the upcoming Hollywood film “The Jungle Book”, has been released by the makers. And it is sure to make you feel nostalgic.
While the lyrics have been penned by Gulzar, Vishal Bhardwaj has composed the music. The singers include Jia Wadkar, Yuvika Chaudhury, Abhirup Dass, Vatsala Mishra, Shaksham Karia, Rashi Salil Harmalkar, Avishkar Yogesh Khot and Oushnik Majumdar.
Writer Mayur Puri, who wrote the dialogues for the Hindi version of The Jungle Book, had earlier said, “As a kid I was mesmerized by the world of Mowgli, Bagheera, Baloo and Shere Khan. On top of it, Jon Favreau’s film is fantastic! So it’s a great opportunity for me to write the Hindi dialogues. The lines will maintain the original flavor but have a taste of India. Honestly, the most exciting and probably the most challenging thing to do in my entire career as a lyricist was writing the Hindi songs in The Jungle Book. The pressure was humongous. Firstly, because Gulzarsaab's 'chaddi pehan ke phool khila hai' has set an extremely high benchmark. Secondly, I've been singing 'Bare Necessities' since I was 10 years old. To recreate new words in place of something you've been singing for 30 years is not an easy task. Working on Jungle Book is the kind of thing a writer has on his bucket list. I've ticked it."
Directed by Jon Favrea, the new take on Rudyard Kipling's classic tale, features Neel Sethi playing the role of Mowgli.
It is supported by Scarlett Johansson (Kaa the python), Ben Kingsley (Bagheera the panther), Idris Elba (Sher Khan the tiger), Bill Murray (Bhaloo the bear), Christopher Walken (King Louie the orangutan), and Lupita Nyong'o (Raksha the mother wolf).
Priyanka Chopra, Irrfan, Nana Patekar, Om Puri and Shefali Shah have dubbed for the Hindi version of movie.
The film is scheduled for an April 8, 2016 release.