The Hindi version of The Lion King is as entertaining as the English one. The voiceover artists have done their best but first, kudos to writer Mayur Puri. Writing a dubbed script of a Hollywood film that will be seen by millions is no easy job and Mayur does his work quite well. A few funny dialogues of the hyenas didn’t make the desired impact. But there are places where the goings-on turn out to be funnier. Mayur Puri incorporates Asrani’ ‘Haha’ bit and tapori-type language in the case of Timon and Pumbaa and it raised lot of laughs in the theatre! Coming to the actors, Shah Rukh Khan is the ideal choice and sounds like a father-figure completely. Aryan Khan is a surprise and he especially rocks in the climax. The way he speaks with a tone of anger is great and it’ll be fun to see him later on in an angry young man avatar! A crucial scene where both the father and son communicate gives goosebumpbs! Ashish Vidyarthi is efficient and his singing debut is worth it. Asrani is quite endearing. Shreyas Talpade and Sanjay Mishra contribute a lot to the laughter quotient. Achint Kaur is unrecognizable at first but she is quite menacing as Shenzi. Neha Gargava, popular voice actor, is appropriate for Nala. Shernaz Patel is fine while Shiv Subramaniam is the surprise of the film, voicing Rafiki. All in all, The Lion King’s Hindi version is worth it and should be given a try! Wish at least show of it was showcased in IMAX screens!

My rating - **** out of 5!