Junglee (2019 film)

Junglee (transl. Wild) is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film directed by American filmmaker Chuck Russell and produced by Junglee Pictures.[5] Starring Vidyut Jammwal, Pooja Sawant, Asha Bhat, and Atul Kulkarni in the lead roles, the film revolves around a veterinary doctor who upon returning to his father's elephant reserve, encounters and fights against an international poacher's racket.[6] The film features martial arts and action stunts performed by Jammwal.[7][8]

Junglee
Theatrical release poster
Directed byChuck Russell
Produced byVineet Jain
Priti Shahani
Written byAkshat Ghildhial
Suman Adhikary
(dialogue)
Screenplay byAdam Prince
Raghaav Dar
Story byRohan Sippy
Charudutt Acharya
Umesh Padalkar
Ritesh Shah
StarringVidyut Jammwal
Pooja Sawant
Asha Bhat
Atul Kulkarni
Music bySongs:
Sameer Uddin
Score:
Sameer Uddin
Tanuj Tikku
CinematographyMark Irwin
Sachin Gadankush
Edited byJayesh Shikarkhane
Vasudevan Kothandath
Production
company
Distributed byAA Films
UFO Moviez
Release date
  • 29 March 2019 (2019-03-29)[1]
Running time
115 minutes[2]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹22 crore[3]
Box officeest. ₹24.70 crore (domestic)[4]

The initial release date was moved up a week to give the action thriller Romeo Akbar Walter a solo release.[9] Initially scheduled for release on 19 October 2018,[5] and then for 5 April, it was released on 29 March 2019.[1] Critics have given the film mixed reviews, praising the action scenes performed by Jammwal himself.[10]

Plot

Dipankar Nair runs an Elephant sanctuary but things have turned bad as hunters are frequently killing Elephants for their tusks. His son Raj, a veterinarian in Mumbai, arrives for the 10th anniversary of his mother's death and visits with Bhola and Didi, his elephant playmates when he was a child. Keshav, a hunter, has an eye on huge tusks of Bhola which could fetch good money. Keshav kills Bhola for his tusks and also Dipankar who tries to save him. The cops arrive at funeral of Dipankar and falsely implicate him of being with hunters and also frame Raj for it. After being taken into the prison, he, whose hands are still banded. But he still fights them all, and frees himself after Didi pulls the window out with Shankara, Raj's childhood friend, as her mahout, with Meera, a reporter who has come with Raj to write an article on the elephant sanctuary. Raj also reveals to them that the Inspector who framed him for being with hunters, is one of that group who supports elephant's tusk smuggling. Dev, Raj's best friend, is also revealed to be with the hunters. Dev and Raj fight, after which the hunters come. They injure Raj badly, but kill Dev, who in turn, was in a bid to save Raj. The hunters also capture Shankara, while Meera captures all this. Gajja Guru, Raj's teacher, treats Raj, with Meera. Raj, with a dead hunter's phone, gets to know that the buyers are in Paradip, where Shankara is also kept. Raj attacks the mansion, and kills all bodyguards and hunters. He saves Shankara, and there Meera and Jayesh(another childhood friend of Raj) also arrive. Raj attacks Keshav and makes him nearly fainted, and goes to save the others, in that Keshav picks up his gun, but Gajja Guru and Didi arrive, in which Didi kills Keshav. The buyers are captured by the police. Whereas inside, Didi is about to deliver her baby. Three months later, Dipankar Nair's last message is shown, in which he tells that elephants are killed every 15 minutes for their tusks, and that we can still stop that by not buying products made of ivory. Didi's child Asha is also shown to Meera's millions of followers. When Raj receives a call from his office, he replies that it will be a while before he is back at work because 'Things have gotten a bit wild out here!'

Cast

Production

In September 2016, it was announced that Jammwal will star as a veterinary doctor in Rohan Sippy's film titled Junglee which will "mirror a unique friendship between man and an animal."[11] Sippy said that the idea of the film came to him after seeing the classic 1971 Salim–Javed film Haathi Mere Saathi,[11] though it also has some similarities with Tom-Yum-Goong. However, the film later went to American director Chuck Russell, who is known for directing The Mask (1994), Eraser (1996) and The Scorpion King (2002).[12]

Jammwal performs an animal flow style of combat for the film. His upbringing in Kerala and his background in the Indian martial art of Kalaripayattu helped him prepare for the role.[13][14] As a Kalaripayattu practitioner, he grew up interacting with animals.[7] With his prior experience as a stuntman, Jammwal performed his own stunts for the film,[7][15] which impressed Russell.[16]

While talking about his first experience directing an Indian film, Russell said that he wanted to make a film "that is true to India, but uses the music, dance and the wonderful artists in Bollywood to tell a universal story about returning to the natural world".[17] The principal photography of the film began on 5 December 2017 and was finished in the summer of 2018.[12][18] Out of 100, four elephants were selected for the film after scouting in India and Sri Lanka.[19] Junglee was shot in Thailand.[20] The scenes involving elephants were shot in the presence of Thai crew members.[19] Few scenes were also shot in the Jungles of Odisha and West Bengal

Release

The film released on 29 March 2019.[2] The film was made available as video on demand through Hotstar on 25 May 2019.[21]

Reception

Critical response

As of August 2020, 40% of the ten reviews compiled by Rotten Tomatoes are positive, with an average rating of 4.67/10.[10] Saibal Chatterjee writing for NDTV rates the film with one and a half stars out of five and says, "Jammwal is about the only bright spot in a pulpy action-adventure film."[22] Renuka Vyavahare of Times Of India gives three and half stars out of five and says, "Watch Junglee for its spellbinding action, cute elephants and gorgeous jungles. Such an adventurous and brave attempt is rare in Hindi cinema."[23] Priyanka Sinha Jha of News18 rates the film with two stars out of five and feels that the film is a big disappointment.[24] Writing for The Indian Express Shubhra Gupta gives it two stars out of five and finds the film comic book simple.[25] Devesh Sharma of Filmfare giving three stars out of five says, "All-in-all, Junglee is an action-packed adventure which also tells us that we share this planet with lots of different species, who have an equal right to it..."[26] Anupama Chopra of Film Companion gives two stars out of five with remarks, "The film’s intentions are admirable and the action is carried off with conviction, but the humans have the depth of cartoon characters."[27] Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in writes, "The message of Junglee is deadly serious, but its solutions belong firmly in the realm of the children’s movie."[28]

Box office

Junglee earned ₹3.35 crore on its opening day in India. Its opening weekend earnings in the domestic market were ₹13.85 crore . It earned ₹21.20 crore in its opening week in India. It earned ₹24.70 crore in the domestic market.[4]

Soundtrack
Junglee
Soundtrack album by
Sameer Uddin
Released29 March 2019 [29]
Recorded2017–18
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length11:15
LanguageHindi
LabelT-Series
External audio
Audio Jukebox on YouTube
Sameer Uddin chronology
Mitron
(2018)		 Junglee
(2019)

The music of the film is composed by Sameer Uddin while the lyrics are penned by Anvita Dutt Guptan and Kumar Suryavanshi.

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Fakeera Ghar Aaja"Anvita DuttJubin Nautiyal3:43
2."Garje Gajraj Hamara"Kumar SuryavanshiNavraj Hans, Hamsika Iyer, Abhishek Nailwal, Gulshan Kumar3:38
3."Dosti"Kumar SuryavanshiMohan Kannan3:54
Total length:11:15

References
  1. Taran Adarsh [@taran_adarsh] (11 March 2019). "New release date for #Junglee... Will now release on 29 March 2019 [was slated for release on 5 April 2019 initially]... Official announcement: t.co/HcPToXS5G1" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. "Junglee 2019 | British Board of Film Classification". Bbfc.co.uk. 25 March 2019.
  3. "Day 1 Box Office Prediction of Junglee and Notebook". Jagran. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  4. "Junglee Box Office". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  5. "'Junglee' starring Vidyut Jammwal up for a Dussehra 2018 release". The Times of India. 13 November 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  6. "Ahead of 'Junglee' trailer launch, Vidyut Jammwal, Pooja Sawant and Asha Bhat visit Siddhivinayak temple". The Times of India. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  7. "Vidyut Jammwal enters the wild in 'Junglee'". Gulf News. 25 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  8. "Vidyut made a new friend while shooting for Junglee. The movie was shot at Chandaka forest in Odisha. Chandaka forest in Odisha also known for elwphant reserve". Firstpost. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  9. "Junglee gets preponed by a week, Romeo Akbar Walter to get solo release". Bollywood Hungama. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  10. "JUNGLEE". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  11. "Vidyut Jammwal to star in Rohan Sippy's Junglee". Bollywood Hungama. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  12. "Shooting for Junglee begins, to release on October 19". The Indian Express. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  13. "'जंगली' बनने के लिए विद्युत जामवाल ने सीखी भगवान श्रीकृष्ण की विद्या, ऐसा करने वाले होंगे पहले एक्टर". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). 1 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  14. "Junglee: Vidyut Jammwal's film with The Mask director Chuck Russel to release on Dusshehra 2018". Firstpost. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  15. Dedhia, Sonil (22 February 2019). "Rough ride for Vidyut Jammwal while shooting for Junglee". Mid Day. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  16. "Chuck Russell Impressed With Vidyut Jammwal's Stunts in 'Junglee'". The Quint. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  17. Nigam, Aarushi (17 October 2018). "Get ready for jumbo-sized fun with Vidyut Jammwal's Junglee". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  18. "Exclusive pic of Vidyut Jammwal from Junglee, on World Environment Day". Femina. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  19. Saini, Narendra (3 December 2017). "This is a selection of elephants from 100, will be the partner of this action star". NDTV. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  20. "Vidyut Jammwal takes off to Thailand to start shooting for Junglee". Times Now. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  21. "Junglee". April 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  22. Chatterjee, Saibal. "Junglee Movie Review: Vidyut Jammwal Only Bright Spot In Pulp Film By Hollywood Director". NDTV. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  23. Vyavahare, Renuka. "Junglee Movie Review". Times of India. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  24. Sinha Jha, Priyanka. "Junglee Movie Review: Vidyut Jammwal's Film Is A Jumbo Disappointment". News18. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  25. Gupta, Shubhra (29 March 2019). "Junglee movie review: Too comic-book simple". The Indian Express. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  26. Sharma, Devesh (29 March 2019). "Movie Review: Junglee". Filmfare. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  27. Chopra, Anupama (29 March 2019). "Junglee Movie Review: Impressive Elephants But Not Much Else". Film Companion. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  28. Ramnath, Nandini. "'Junglee' movie review: Save the elephants (it helps if Vidyut Jammwal is around)". Scroll.in.
  29. "Junglee – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Jio Saavn.
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