Actor joins Hollywood filmmaker Chuck Russell’s action-adventure, Junglee, in Thailand that kicked off last week
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 13, 2017)

Vidyut Jammwal who kicked off shooting for his upcoming action-adventure Junglee in Thailand on December 5, was joined by Gurgaon and Laal Rang actor Akshay Oberoi this week. Akshay will play Vidyut’s childhood buddy and in the film, both their characters grew up around elephants on the same reserv and have a common mission to protect the animals there. Directed by Chuck Russell (of Jim Carrey’s The Mask and Dwayne Johnson-starrer The Scorpion King fame), the Junglee Pictures production is being shot by celebrated cinematographer Mark Irwin, best known for Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary.

“I grew up on a steady dose of Chuck Russell films and remember watching Eraser and A Nightmare on Elm Street, after which I bought a pair of Freddie Krueger shoes,” Akshay told Mirror, speaking from the Chiang Mai Elephant Reserve and Jungle Sanctuary where the unit is presently filming. Akshay and Vidyut are filming with four elephants, including Un, a therapy elephant who plays an integral part in the narrative which focuses on the man-beast friendship in its attempt to stop poaching in Orissa. “It’s an incredible story and when I was told it was a Chuck Russell film, there was no turning back. I had a meeting with Junglee Pictures’ Priti Shahani and also read the part for a filmmaker I idolise and greenlit the project immediately,” Akshay adds.

The actor, who will next be seen in Akshat Verma’s Kaalakaandi, also informs that Chuck is an animal-whisperer and almost all his films have featured animals. “It’s exciting to work with him and his team. Just being in the same frame as these huge elephants is an experience in itself and I’m sure it will be a cinematic spectacle too,” Akshay promises, adding that to match Vidyut’s skills as a martial artiste he has begun training in Kalaripayattu with Thai trainers this week. “I will be seen doing things I’ve never done before,” he signs off excitedly.