Shah Rukh Khan, who will lend his voice in the Hindi version of Mufasa: The Lion King, opened up about how his life journey is similar to that of the rise of the lion king. Ahead of the release of the film, Walt Disney Studios India shared a promotional video on its YouTube channel. The video begins with Shah Rukh saying, “Yeh kahaani hai ek aese raja ki jise virasat ki roshni nahi, tanhaiyo ki virasat mili (This story is about a king who has inherited loneliness instead of a grand legacy).”

Shah Rukh continues, “Lekin uski rago mein behta tha ek junoon. Aur usi junoon se usne zameen se uthkar aasmaaan ko chhua. Zameen par toh kayi badshah hukumat karte aaye hai par usne raaj kiya sabhi ke dilon par. Halath ki aandhiyon se utha, ek saccha raja. Kaafi milti julti hai na yeh kahani (smiles)? Par yeh kahani hai Mufasa ki (But he had passion. With that passion, he aspired to touch the sky. Many kings ruled the land, but he ruled the hearts of the people. He emerged as a true king overcoming predicaments. This story sounds similar, right? But it’s a story about Mufasa).” The video also has snippets from the upcoming film.

Directed by Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins and written by Jeff Nathanson, Lin-Manuel Miranda composed the original score for the English version. Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr lend their voices to the younger incarnations of Mufasa and Scar respectively, with James Earl Jones reprising his role as Mufasa’s voice. Jeremy Irons and Chiwetel Ejiofor previously voiced Scar in the 1994 original and 2019 remake.

Mufasa: The Lion King will be released on December 20 in cinemas. The movie will be available in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Apart from Shah Rukh Khan, his son Aryan Khan voices Simba, and even the youngest, AbRam Khan, voices Mufasa as a cub.

 Shah Rukh, AbRam and Aryan will lend their voices in the Hindi version of the film