Nicholas Ofczarek lends his voice to the narrator, Panther Bagheera
Vienna (OTS) – In 1894, in the dead of winter in North America, the British author Rudyard Kipling wrote stories that take place in an adventurous jungle in the middle of tropical India. A literary masterpiece that everyone now knows as “The Jungle Book”. How much truth is there in these stories? How do the animals of the jungle really live? And what role does Mowgli play in this? In the new international “Universum” co-production “The True Jungle Book,” which was created under the auspices of ORF, Jeremy Hogarth and Kalyan Varma document the daily struggle for survival of the heroes from Kipling’s stories in the modern world. Film and theater star Nicholas Ofczarek lends his voice to the narrator, Panther Baghira, in the “Universum” Christmas highlight and takes the audience on a fantastic journey on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, at 8:15 p.m. on ORF 2. Alfred Komarek, one of Austria’s most famous writers, provides the narrator’s text. The Styrian Hollywood composer Thomas Wander is responsible for the film music. “The True Jungle Book” was created as a co-production by ORF, dreiD.at, Drishyam Films, NDR-Naturefilm Doclights and ARTE GEIE in collaboration with ORF-Enterprise.
The Indian cameraman Kalyan Varma, the Australian director Jeremy Hogarth and the Austrian film producer Lukas Kogler (dreiD.at Filmproduktion) worked on this extraordinary project for more than four years. The camera crews managed to capture breathtaking scenes – like that of a lame tiger going hunting. Because Shir Khan, the tiger from the Jungle Book, also had a lame foot. A sloth bear, like Baloo with Mowgli, strives to pass on his knowledge to the next generation. Like Kaa, a giant python engages in a death struggle with its prey, an Axis deer, while a large, old elephant, similar to Hathi, wanders the jungle almost silently as a solitary animal. As in Kipling’s Jungle Book, a black panther plays the main role in this “universe” production – Bagheera. He is the narrator. With the text written by Alfred Komarek, he knows all the stories and secrets of the animals in the real Jungle Book.
The biggest challenge was getting the Indian wolves in front of the camera. Cinematographer Pooja Rathod remembers: “Following the wolves every step of the way as they tried to find their way in a habitat that is increasingly being invaded by humans was an absolutely unique experience for me.” The wolf population in India today consists of less than 3,000 animals. This “Universe” documentary shows perhaps the most powerful and intimate scenes ever filmed, and not just of the wolves: “Every nature documentary needs patience, knowledge and a good dose of luck. “Stamina and commitment also played a crucial role in this production, in which the pandemic and climate changes also presented us with major challenges,” says producer Lukas Kogler, proud of his team. The Graz composer Thomas Wander, who is a fixture in Hollywood film music, is also part of the team. His music is an integral part of director Roland Emmerich’s blockbusters such as “Independence Day: The Return” or most recently “Moonfall”. “Although the images are very impressive, it is the very personal narrative that appealed to me. “I tried to capture and reflect the special ‘tone’ that director Jeremy Hogarth created with the narrative and, above all, with his choice of words and text design with the music,” says Thomas Wander, for whom “The Real Jungle Book” is the first documentary , which he set to music. As is the case for Burgtheater, film and TV actor Nicholas Ofczarek: “I am very happy to be there as a new Jungle Book is opened – told in the here and now, in today’s India.”
The idea of bringing these stories to the screen came from Indian wildlife filmmaker Kalyan Varma: “When I was eight years old, we got our first television. I loved the Disney version of The Jungle Book. Back then I wanted to be Mowgli and roam through the jungle myself. Then I became a wildlife filmmaker and came to know about a black panther in the forests of Kabini. I knew immediately that this was the right time to make the film about the real animals from the Jungle Book.”
There is no Jungle Book without Mowgli – even in a nature film. Director Jeremy Hogarth clarifies: “Although man, and especially his influence on nature, is omnipresent in this film, the main focus is clearly on the animals that made The Jungle Book a literary classic. In this way, Mogli also becomes a supporting actor who forms a dramaturgical and visual bridge between the book and the real Jungle Book.”
“The Real Jungle Book” is a tribute to a great literary work and to the incomparable nature of the most populous country on earth. The film also shows that there is always a grain of truth in these old stories. Perhaps that is also the reason why they continue to generate enthusiasm around the world today – among children and adults. The law of the jungle still exists.