Junglee

Lord of the jungle

Story: Raj Nayar (Vidyut Jammwal), a veterinary doctor from Mumbai, visits his father after a long gap of ten years in their Chandrika elephant sanctuary (Odisha). Soon after, a ghastly attack on the elephants by a bunch of poachers, led by (Atul Kulkarni), changes his life forever.

Review: Initially lured by the city life, Raj now decides to protect the gentle giants in the sanctuary, which has always been his father’s dream. After a series of unfortunate events that happen in the reserve, Meera (debutante Asha Bhat), a journalist from Mumbai and Shankara (debutante Pooja Sawant), a mahout based in the sanctuary, also join Raj’s mission of punishing the illegal hunters, who kill elephants for ivory.

Protect animals, save the elephants is the primary message that Junglee sends across and it does so in an action-packed way. The film also reiterates that if we pledge to stop buying ivory products, it will prevent poachers from indulging in this illegal trade. True to its theme, the film transports you to the calm of a jungle, away from your city, cell phones and chaos (shot in the beautiful locales of an elephant reserve in Thailand).

Known for Hollywood blockbusters like The Mask, The Scorpion King and Eraser, American director Chuck Russell makes his Hindi cinema debut with this one. His fascination for mythology, Hindu mantras, our martial arts like Kalaripayattu and Lord Ganpati is evident, given the Indian essence and exoticism he brings to the story, from a Westerner’s perspective.

While the film scores higher on action than emotion, Russell’s attempt at blending the two with a social cause, stands out for a variety of reasons. Along with cinematographer Mark Irwin (known for RoboCop 2), the director manages to capture the enormous animals in their natural habitat. Thankfully, there is no cutesy, orchestrated acting that the elephants are made to do, and they are a sight to behold. All the actors exude effortless comfort around the elephants, which is rare for an Indian film that revolves around animals. The last Indian film that captured the man-elephant camaraderie was Haathi Mere Saathi (1971), starring Rajesh Khanna and Tanuja.

The film’s highlight, other than its fight against poachers who kill elephants for tusks, is Vidyut Jammwal’s brilliance as one of our finest action heroes. His action (without the help of a body double) is absolutely flawless and perhaps the best in the business. The jaw-dropping, lethal action scenes he portrays on screen and his mastery in martial arts puts him at par with the finest action heroes across the globe. A police station scene in particular, where a handcuffed Vidyut single-handedly dodges the cops, is spectacular. You see him fling himself on running vehicles, indulging in fist fights, and sliding through a tiny window and more. It’s Chung Chi Li (who has worked with Jackie Chan in the Rush Hour franchise, and movies like Shanghai Noon and The Tuxedo, among others) and Parvez Shaikh’s pulsating action that holds your attention and makes this film a paisa vasool entertainer, that is bound to attract families and children.

Though Asha and Pooja, in their small parts, make confident and decent debuts. Atul makes his presence felt as the antagonist, who looks at killing mighty animals as a challenge. Understated and genuine, Akshay Oberoi and Makarand Deshpande are impressive in their parts, too.

Watch Junglee for its spellbinding action, cute elephants and gorgeous jungles. Such an adventurous and brave attempt is rare in Hindi cinema.