Wild About The Jungle Book

Mowgli, played by Neel Sethi, and Bagheera (voiced by Ben Kingsley) set off on an adventure in The Jungle Book, a new live-action movie from Disney.

Mowgli [MOH-glee], Rudyard Kipling’s fictional wild child, has returned to the silver screen. Neel Sethi, 12, stars as the “man-cub” who is raised by wolves in a new film adaptation of The Jungle Book, Kipling’s 19th-century classic. The movie, which opens in theaters today, combines live action with computer-generated imagery (CGI) and other special effects.

Lost and alone in the jungles of India, Mowgli must rely on his smarts to survive. “We’re so similar,” Neel says about the character he plays. “We’re both stubborn, adventurous, and energetic.”

When a fierce tiger named Shere Khan (voiced by Idris Elba) learns about Mowgli, he sets off to hunt down the man-cub and kill him. Mowgli is drawn into a ferocious battle, aided only by two animals he has befriended, Bagheera (voiced by Ben Kingsley) and Baloo (voiced by Bill Murray).

 

“A NORMAL KID”

An Indian-American actor, Neel was born in New York City. He was among 2,000 hopefuls around the globe who auditioned for the role of Mowgli. After the thrill of learning that he was selected, Neel had to imagine that he lived in a jungle among wild animals, which he could see only on a computer screen.

“They had puppets, and that really helped me,” Neel says. “Jon Favreau, the director, actually got into the puppets sometimes. He would interact with me, which made it a lot easier.”

The animals in the Disney film encourage Mowgli to be who he really is—a human being. When asked who inspires him to be himself, Neel says, “My dad, because he thinks that I should just be a normal kid, and I want to be a normal kid.”

Neel would like to pursue an acting career when he grows up. He also wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a dentist. Then again, he wouldn’t mind playing professional football. Doing three things well might sound impossible—but battling a tiger in the jungle isn’t easy either.

WATCH THE VIDEO
See Jeremy’s interview with Neel Sethi.