'Lucia' director Pawan Kumar wants 'The Jungle Book' to be dubbed in Kannada

Director Pawan Kumar wants Hollywood movie "The Jungle Book" to be dubbed in Kannada. In fact, he is in talks with Walt Disney Studios and is expecting a positive outcome from the discussions.

Pawan Kumar, who is gearing up for the release of his next film "U-Turn," had raised funds for his "Lucia" through the crowd-funding route. He is keen to replicate the same model to dub "The Jungle Book" in Kannada. However, the director has clarified on his Facebook page that he is not acquiring the dubbing rights of the English film.

He wrote, "Ya.. so.. media thinks I am acquiring the dubbing rights. NOPE... I AM NOT. In principle i.d want to... but i am very busy with my film.. hence i will assist the crowd.. the audience in doing it.. but cant spearhead the project. I am still following up with Disney.. but I.d want someone or a group to come fwd n do the work. I shall be there to help through. [sic]"

"The Jungle Book" has been released in multiple languages, including Tamil and Telugu, in India. The dubbed versions have met with good response from viewers.

However, the film has not been dubbed in Kannada as the industry has so far been opposed to dubbing content from other languages into Kannada. In fact, there was an unofficial ban on dubbing since the 1960s. A case on the issue was filed a few years ago at the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which passed the verdict in favour of dubbing, while terming the ban "illegal."

Earlier efforts to dub movies from other language into Kannada had met with little success due to the lack of co-operation among members of the industry.