A still from the film. (Image courtesy: YouTube)
Highlights
- The Lion King is releasing on July 19
- Aryan will be the voice of Mufasa's son Simba
- Ashish Vidyarthi is dubbing for antagonist Scar's character
The trailer of the Hindi dub of Jon Favreau's The Lion King dropped on the Internet on Friday and it makes it very clear who the main attraction of the film is - Shah Rukh Khan, who voices the secondary character of Mufasa, rather than Simba himself, the titular Lion King, voiced by SRK's son Aryan. Now, we don't hear Simba speak in the English trailer either but the Hindi version goes further by including footage of SRK in the dubbing studio. The English spots released so far do feature Donald Glover as Simba - he and Beyonce, who is cast as Nala, perform Can You Feel The Love Tonight? together in one clip. No such luck here - we'll have to wait till July 19 to hear Aryan Khan as Simba.
The Hindi trailer is Shah Rukh Khan all the way even though the English one features Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar alongside James Earl Jones as Mufasa. As Mufasa, SRK gives his son Simba good advice on how to be a 'sachcha raja' or 'true king' in the African wild.
Watch the Hindi trailer of The Lion King here:
Shah Rukh Khan and Aryan earlier dubbed for father-son duo Mr Incredible and Dash in 2004 film The Incredibles. The casting of the inexperienced Aryan as the central character in The Lion King has been received with a lot of criticism. However, SRK is thrilled to be working with his very own real life Simba. He said in a statement, "The Lion King is that one movie that my entire family loves the most and it holds a very special place in our hearts. As a father, I can totally relate with Mufasa and the endearing relationship he shares with his son - Simba. The legacy of Lion King is timeless; and being a part of this iconic re-imagining with my son Aryan makes it extra special for me. We are most excited that AbRam is going to watch this."
The Lion King is the story of lion cub Simba, who is tricked by his conniving uncle Scar into believing that he is reason for his father Mufasa's death - when actually it was Scar who led Mufasa into a stampede. Simba flees and grows up away from his family with his friends Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog. He returns home after learning the truth about his father's death. After a fierce fight, Simba defeats Scar and reclaims Pride Rock and his title as the 'Lion King.'
In the Hindi version, actors Ashish Vidyarthi, Shreyas Talpade and Sanjay Mishra will dub for the characters of Scar, Timon and Pumbaa, respectively.
The Lion King is a photorealistic computer-animated remake of the animated Disney film of the same name, which released in 1994. The Lion King is releasing on the original film's 25th anniversary.