Mowgli trailer: Andy Serkis tries to break away from earlier adaptations in this dark, promising retelling of a classic

If the first trailer for Andy Serkis’ movie adaptation of The Jungle Book is any indication, _Mowgli_ might not even be suitable for children. For most Indians, the first introduction to Mowgli was through a Japanese animated TV series which was telecast in India after being dubbed in Hindi. Indeed, the opening tune of “Jungle jungle baat chali hai, pata chala hai” is an instant dose of nostalgia for any 90s kid. It was one of the most iconic shows for children at the time and had a successful run on TV. With that in mind, it is surprising to see the treatment Serkis is giving to the children’s classic. The trailer hardly seeks to hide this as it proudly asks you to “witness the darkest telling” of the story. It starts with Mowgli being ill-treated by humans as an ominous Bagheera narrates what is happening. The expected Shere Khan appearance is as scary as you would expect, as the tiger limps into the picture with real menace.

The cast of the film is choc-a-bloc full of stars with Christian Bale playing Bagheera, Cate Blanchett voicing the snake Kaa and Benedict Cumberbatch playing Shere Khan. Andy Serkis will himself voice Baloo. On the human side, Rohan Chand plays Mowgli . Matthew Rhys and Freida Pinto are part of the cast as well. With the numerous adaptations of Rudyard Kipling’s classic already available, it seems like Serkis has gone for an extremely grim portrayal of the story. It will be interesting to see how well it is executed and how he distinguishes it from 2016’s The Jungle Book.