Shah Rukh Khan wins hearts as King Mufasa

Mumbai, June 29 (IANS) Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has joined the global legacy of "The Lion King", and is winning hearts with his voice-over as King Mufasa in the Hindi version of the upcoming live-action movie.

SRK shared the trailer of the Hindi version on Friday, tweeting "Delighted to be a part of this global legacy".

Since then, the trailer has gone viral in the virtual world.

One user wrote: "Global legacy met a global star -- SRK", while another expressed: "You got me in my feeling there Shah Rukh... lending your voice to #Mufasa is like completing the circle of entertainment".

"Mufasa has withstood the test of time as one of the most endearing and iconic characters. We cannot imagine having a better and more iconic voice than Shah Rukh Khan to bring Mufasa's wisdom to life in Hindi," Bikram Duggal - Head, Studio Entertainment, Disney India, said in a statement.

"We are thrilled with the fans reaction to the trailer," he added.

Opening about the process of dubbing, Duggal said: "The entire team had a lot of fun during the dubbing, Shah Rukh Khan insisted that we all hear what he does with the dubbing and we will all see how it sounds and make changes before final dub. Shah Rukh Khan is a thorough professional."

Shah Rukh has dubbed for the film along with his son Aryan, who has lent voice to the character of Simba, in the upcoming live-action movie.

Screenwriter Mayur Puri, who has worked on the Hindi version of "The Lion King", asserts that Shah Rukh is a "complete director's actor or a writer's actor".

"He doesn't come as a star but as a worker. The amount of hard work that a recordist or any other creative person will put in, Shah Rukh sir will put an equal or more amount of hard work into the project," Puri told IANS.

"He is really invested in the project and very passionate about it," he added.

On working with him, Puri said: "It is so funny... Shah sir works at night. And at that time we are a bit tired. But we are charged up when Shah sir and Aryan leave the studio around 4-5 in the morning. That is because we are excited as we are so happy with the work.

"They keep teasing each other... It is a lot of fun... The Hindi version has shaped up very well."

The trailer of the upcoming live-action movie opens with Shah Rukh looking into the camera at a recording studio as he emphasises on the importance of staying connected to one's identity.

"Main hamesha tumhare saath hun, aur hamesha tumhare saath hi rahunga... Bas yaad rakhna ke tum kaun ho... Ek sacha raja (Simba, I am always with you and will always be there for you. Just remember who you are - a true king," Shah Rukh says as Mufasa.

In the trailer, Shah Rukh is also giving advice to Simba about how a "true king" should think about what he can do for his people, and not what his people can do for him.

In the closing moments of the trailer, Mufasa tells Simba to always remember who he is -- "A true king".

There's no dialogue of Simba in the over one-minute long trailer.

Disney India has roped in Ashish Vidyarthi, Shreyas Talpade, Sanjay Mishra and Asrani for the Hindi version. Ashish has lent his voice to Scar, Shreyas has given voice of Timon, Sanjay to Pumbaa and Asrani to Zazu.

"The Jungle Book" fame director Jon Favreau has re-imagined the world of Disney's classic to bring alive a live-action film. He has stayed true to the classic story of Simba and used pioneering filmmaking techniques to bring the iconic characters to the big screen in a whole new way.

The film will release in India on July 19 in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.