Jungle Book – Hindi version : I am happy I saw the English version first, because the Hindi one had more humour. Had I seen it first, the English one would have seemed flat. Irrfan as Baloo was hilarious! His punjabi accent and comic timing gave depth to the character. Thoroughly enjoyed it! Priyanka Chopra as Kaa was perfect. Her voice has the right ‘hypnotic’ effect. There is nothing this girl can’t do. Om Puri as Bagheera was pitch perfect and Nana Patekar as Shere Khan was menacing. Shefali Shah as Raksha was strong yet nurturing. Bugs Bhargava Krishna does the voice of King Louie in a dramatic Anglo/Hindi style. The artist who has done Mowgli’s voice is appropriate. The only thing missing was the song ‘Jungle Jungle baat chali hai’. It could have easily been incorporated as the music for the End credits. That would have been complete entertainment for the Indian cinema goer. The film and all its dubbed versions has already crossed 100 crores. An equal, if not better watch!

4/5