|| Junglee - Box Office & Reviews ||

Renuka Vyavahare, Updated: Mar 28, 2019, 06.55 PM ISTCritic's

Rating: 3.5

Lord of the jungle

Junglee 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.

Junglee 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 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.

In-depth Analysis

Our overall critic's rating is not an average of the sub scores below.

Direction:

3.5/5

Screenplay:

3.0/5

Music:

3.0/5

Action:

4.5/5

Visual appeal:

4.5/5

Entertainment Saibal Chatterjee

Junglee Movie Review: It is unlikely to enhance Chuck Russell's reputation, who has successes like The Mask, The Scorpion King.

Updated : March 29, 2019 12:48 IST

Junglee Movie Review: Vidyut Jammwal in a still from the film. (Image courtesy: YouTube)

Cast: Vidyut Jammwal, Pooja Sawant, Asha Bhatt, Akshay Oberoi, Atul Kulkarni and Makrand Deshpande

Director: Chuck Russell

Rating: One and a half stars (out of five)

The male protagonist of Hollywood director Chuck Russell's first Bollywood flick, Junglee, is a brawny veterinarian blessed with extraordinary abilities. We first see him counselling a young couple whose marriage has hit a trough owing to a jealous pet macaw that cannot stand any show of intimacy between them. Later that day, on the way back from work, the doctor demonstrates dazzling kalaripayattu moves to deliver instant comeuppance to a bunch of miscreants that he catches in the act of torturing a stray dog. It's all in a day's work for a man with a natural jungle streak.

Having put on show his all-round skills in the first few minutes of the film, the hero proceeds to the Odisha elephant sanctuary that he grew up in - it is another matter that Junglee has been filmed primarily in Thailand, which yields some undeniably pretty visuals but does little for authenticity. The script goes missing in the jungle. No matter how hard the incredibly supple Vidyut Jammwal tries to whip up excitement with well-choreographed action sequences, Junglee is a whole load of bull.

The film is set in a crassly cosmetic world where nothing, not even the wonderful four-legged creatures sourced from the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang or the female mahout Shankara (played by Bollywood first-timer Pooja Sawant, always fetching, never a hair out of place), rings true.

Vidyut Jammwal in a still from the Junglee trailer.

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A journo and animal rights activist (debutante Asha Bhat) is literally a babe in the woods. She lands up in the sanctuary to interview its celebrated owner and stops at nothing to let the world know that she is completely out of place in this universe. To the model-turned-actress' credit, she does a good job of disguising her discomfiture.

It may be a bit of fun to watch the lead actor in the company of the gentle giants on the screen - Jammwal is completely at home and seems to be having a good time - but Junglee is too violent and gory to be regarded as a film for children the way 1971's Haathi Mere Saathi was. The impressive cinematography by Mark Irwin (early David Cronenberg collaborator) can only impart surface gloss to a yarn that is devoid of genuine emotion and depth. Even when a herd of elephants is mercilessly slaughtered on a rainy night and a dead pachyderm has its tusks sawed off, one is neither shocked nor moved.

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The first half of Junglee is passable. There's obvious promise in the return of the prodigal who reaches out to his estranged dad and his boyhood buddy and forest ranger Dev (Akshay Oberoi in a special appearance), but in the second half Junglee degenerates into an out-and-out action film designed for Vidyut Jammwal to bash the stuffing out of his evil adversaries. It is all couched in a message that seeks to drive home the enormity of the danger that animals face as a result of human greed.

That is the principal burden of the plot. A gang of poachers, led by a Mahabharat-spouting hunter (Atul Kulkarni trying his best to keep a straight face amid the mayhem), is lurking in the forest. The elephants, especially the tuskers, are under threat. The hero has to swing into action a la Tarzan to thwart the rampaging ivory smugglers who have browbeaten the law enforcers into submission. Needless to say, he does, but not before the ruthless marksman and his boys armed with drones, guns and stunners have wreaked havoc and caused several deaths, both animal and human.

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The lead actor, as elastic a hunk as any working in Hindi cinema today, plays Raj Nair, a Mumbai-based veterinary doctor who hasn't been home - a centre for rescued elephants - since his mother succumbed to cancer a decade ago. He holds his father responsible for her untimely demise because he did not take her to the city for treatment, but the son deigns to return to his childhood abode for a ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the death.

The trip gives the veterinarian an opportunity to renew his bond with the forest where he grew up with elephants roaming free and secure, most notably Bhola, a once-playful calf who has now grown into a massive tusker who heads a herd. This elephant is a truly handsome creature with, as the hunter reveals late in the film, "the largest tusks on record". When buyers arrive at the hunter's hideout with a stash of cash, one of the visitors, a woman, says: "It smells like fish." Her companion replies: "Of course, it smells like fish, that's the ocean there."

If that weren't grotesque enough, this more-fishy-than-wild ride conjures up a kalaripayattu master (Makarand Deshpande), who drinks like a fish and delivers pep talks to the hero when the chips are down. And in a film in which the action spins around elephants, can the Elephant God, Ganpati, be far behind? The deity makes an appearance in a baffling sequence in the second half that could rival the excesses of Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom.

Vidyut Jammwal in a still from Junglee.

Also added to the mix, in an unabashedly tendentious manner, is a cop named S Khan (Vishwanath Chatterjee), who is on the take from the poachers. In one sequence, he rushes home from the police station because his wife has cooked biryani and ordered him to return on time for dinner. As his family is revealed at the dining table, we figure out that Mr. Khan has as many as three children. Are we surprised? Given the family name that he answers to, we are left wondering what the film is trying to tell us. Not only is this man in uniform corrupt, he also clearly has no faith in family planning.

It would of course be too much to expect subtlety and other niceties from a turgid movie that cannot even do justice to the pack of pachyderms that it employs in order to acquire heft. Jammwal is about the only bright spot in a pulpy action-adventure film that is unlikely to do anything to enhance the reputation of a filmmaker who has successes like The Mask, Eraser and The Scorpion King behind him. But the lead actor will probably, and deservedly, emerge unscathed from this mess.

Vidyut Jammwal's Junglee, directed by Hollywood's Chuck Rusell, is visually stunning but the story leaves a lot to be desired.

Updated: Mar 29, 2019 12:50:49

Indo Asian News Service

Junglee stars Vidyut Jammwal in the lead role.

Junglee

Director: Chuck Russell

Cast: Vidyut Jammwal, Pooja Sawant, Asha Bhat, Makarand Deshpande, Atul Kulkarni, Akshay Oberoi, Vishwanath Chatterjee;

Rating: 2.5/5

Action-thrillers like Junglee are God-sent to skilled actors looking for a chance to cut loose and have fun. From the looks of it, Vidyut Jammwal as Raj has a grand time playing the protagonist in the film.

He is a veterinary doctor practising in Mumbai, who returns to his roots after 10 long years. His roots are in the jungle where his father is a conservationist. Once home, he realises, that everything is not hunky-dory as it appears to be. Elephants are poached for their tusks and that he must stay back home to be their saviour. How he uses all his skills to help the cause, forms the crux of the tale.

Junglee deals with conservation of elephants.

Helmed by Hollywood filmmaker Chuck Russell, obviously the expectations are high. But unfortunately, this tale of a man and his elephants which shares a message about family, friendship and conservation of elephants is dumbed down to the audience.

The story is simple and straight-forward. There are nuggets of beautifully-created moments which are layered on a lazily crafted plot and careless direction. Apart from major cinematic liberties, Kerala and Odisha seem interchangeable. Also, the director seems to focus more on exhibiting Vidyut's skills in Kalaripayattu than the story itself.

Visually, the film appears to be mounted on a lavish scale. Mark Irwin's cinematography keeps you hooked to the screen. He captures every bit of moment with sincerity. The lush green jungles and the serene tamed elephants are a balm to the eye. Some shots are picture perfect and seem straight out of The Jungle Book.

Junglee has been beautifully shot.

The action sequences are astutely choreographed but they lack gravity. Throughout the film some of these moments appear more comic than serious, except for the fight sequence in the climax. Vidyut's poses and parkour movements are well-captured.

There is an awe-striking moment in one particular scene when he escapes from the narrow prison window in a sweeping jump. The edit here is flawless and worth a mention.

Among the rest of the cast, debutantes Pooja Sawant and Asha Bhat are impressive in their roles. Akshay Oberoi as Raj's friend Dev, Makarand Deshpande as Dev's father, Atul Kulkarni as a poacher and Thalaivasal Vijay as Raj's father; all in one-dimensional roles are sincere and have their moments of on-screen glory.

The song, Yaad ayegi teri dosti... seems like a remix of a previously heard number and song Fakira ghar aaja... is infectious. But overall, the music is not at all impressive.

This film a below mediocre fare that will appeal to animal lovers.

Vidyut Jammwal, the rare exception who can match Tiger Shroff on the action front, is flawless as far as the action in Junglee is concerned.

Updated on: March 29, 2019, 11:47 AM IST

Priyanka Sinha Jha , News18.com

Junglee

Cast: Vidyut Jammwal, Pooja Sawant

Director: Chuck Russell

Elephants have been such delightful protagonists in previous Hindi films that one would be forgiven for expecting Junglee, headlining action hero Vidyut Jammwal to showcase more pachyderm playfulness. Alas, this one takes the dull and dreary route to belabour the point about the peaceful co-existence of man and beast.

What promised to be a reprised, updated version of that old blockbuster Haathi Mera Saathi turns out to be a film that misses the woods for the trees.

Junglee does start with some impressive visuals of elephants running free in lush green forests (actually a sanctuary in Thailand) that also houses, Chandrika, a forest conservation centre of sorts. Chandrika is run by an elderly widower referred to as Baba who has dedicated his life to preserving wildlife along with his dedicated staff. His young son Raj Nair (Vidyut Jammwal), a veterinary, lives in the city and sure knows his animals -- be it macaws, snakes and of course, elephants. The father and son have a few unresolved issues--which is the reason for Raj staying in the city, far removed from the jungle where he grew up. In sharp contrast to the animal-loving brigade are the avaricious poachers baying for the blood of Bhola, the leader of the elephant herd.

Unfortunately, while the film's story (by Ritesh Shah) is about Raj versus poachers hunting magnificent tuskers for their mercenary gains (ivory), it takes a lifetime to get to the point. This was a story that could have been a contemporary, entertaining and even informative. Instead what we have is a laboured narrative, which does little justice to the premise it sets up - the fact that animal poaching in Indian forests is a grim reality.

It would be interesting to note that the aforementioned Haathi Mera Saathi- a remake of a South-Indian film- was adapted by screenwriters Salim (Khan)-Javed (Akhtar) for the Hindi audience. The rest they say is history. But alas, in comparison, Adam Prince and Chuck Russell's screenplay for Junglee is severely underwritten and falls between the two stoolsresulting in a film that is neither Hollywood nor Bollywood style.

Actor Vidyut Jammwal, the rare exception who can match Tiger Shroff on the action front is flawless as far as the action in Junglee is concerned. Unfortunately, this film devotes an endless amount of time establishing the hero as a child of the forest with multiple close-ups and action shots--Jammwal's forte. By the time the story starts moving we are already bored by all the muscle-mania and the Tarzan-like moments. Atul Kulkarni, one of the finest actors of our times is completely wasted in this film, as is Akshay Oberoi. The confident newcomers Asha Bhat and Pooja Sawant make the best of their sidekick roles but sadly the script offers them very little.

As a director, Russell who has impressive Hollywood films like The Mask on his resume falls incredibly short in making Junglee a good watch. Ang Lee (Life of Pi), Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), Richard Attenborough (Gandhi) are among the rare western directors who succeeded in the formidable task of retelling of India stories for both the world and Indian audiences--Russell, unfortunately, misses the mark.

Of the two films dedicated to pachyderms this weekend, Tim Burton's film Dumbo (this one about circus elephants and their young friends) aimed at children is likely to win more hearts than Junglee.

Rating: 2/5

Action scenes were good but not what you expect from vidyut or tiger Shroff.

Screenplay was poor. Dialogues were mostly cringeworthy.

Some songs were good. Cinematography was good.

Acting :- Vidyut can do action but can't speak dialogues. Pooja sawant looks good,othercactress asha bhat was pathetic.

It was more like a low budget web show,not a movie.

2/5 rating.

Saturday 30 March 2019 12.00 IST

Box Office India Trade Network

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Junglee collected 3.25- 3.50 crore nett on day one and did reasonable business in some places but generally the collections were low. Bihar was best with 20 lakhs nett business and this circuit still remains to loyal to animal films.

Films with animals in the past which may not have been huge hits across India always did big business here like Maa (1976), Main Aur Mera Haathi (1981)and Doodh Ka Karz (1990) and this might not be huge in Bihar like those films but is still far better than other circuits. It has collected more than Uri - The Surgical Strike on day one in Bihar.

The better collections are from mass circuits so huge growth maybe difficult for the film. The other release Notebook has fared poorly with collections of 60-70 lakhs nett on day one. It is three times less than Junglee which itself is not that good.

This film will find it tough going with such low collections. The collections are much lower than the last Salman Khan Production which introduced newcomers. Loveyatri released in October last year did business of 2.11 crore nett on day one..