Trunk Call

Mr Russell, how has your trip to India been so far?

Chuck Russell (CR): More than a trip, it has been an adventure. Working with artistes in India feels wonderful. It's really a bit of a dream!

You have worked with animals before. What attracted you to this story?

CR: The elephants, certainly! I was born on a farm and I have always had my way with animals. I always had a rescue dog and now I have a couple of cats. I come from theatre, and when you work with animals, it naturally calls for improvisation.

If we have a relationship, like in our case Vidyut took the time to build a relationship with the elephants, something magical happens. We got more than we bargained for, which is amazing. I wanted to do a film in my style, which is a fun film and one with an important message on the crisis that today surrounds elephants. People who don't watch documentaries might watch this film and suddenly see something new.

There is an underlying message in the film. Do you think packing it with entertainment helps?

CR: I am here to entertain first. But this subject has me in awe. Elephants are uniquely spiritual, mysterious animals; they are wild animals and we have to respect them. They are majestic, and while meeting Bhola in casting, I made sure that Vidyut had enough days to spend with him. It is like befriending a whale. I cannot describe the spirit of this animal. Casting the elephants was just like casting the dog in The Mask, or casting the camel for Dwayne Johnson in the Scorpion King. Animals have different personalities and there is chemistry between an actor and an animal. This is one of the tricks I learnt and I wish to bring it to the audience.

Vidyut, what was your training for Junglee?

Vidyut Jammwal (VJ): The most important thing for me was that I had to 'untrain' myself a lot. The way Chuck works is different. He doesn't have a script to follow but he has it all in his head. He meets you, then he starts working around every character. He has done it with the leading ladies, and he has done it with the elephants too. He looks at them and then decides, 'I think he should come from there'. My experience with him has been different from all that I have watched while growing up. I literally had to unlearn. I had to stop thinking; it's not important. The important thing is how I feel emotionally about doing something – that was a change.

In the beginning, were there apprehensions about coming to a different country and making a film for an audience with different sensibilities?

CR: Here's the thing, I have always been really interested in this world of cinema that you have. When I did The Mask, I was alarmed; it blew my mind that this crazy silliness, that I am almost ashamed that I like, is present in all these different cultures. I finished the editing of the film without dialogue because I wanted to see if we could make an international film, if we could make the comedy so physical. The reaction was so terrific, and I realised, I was right. I am not just naive, not just optimistic, but correct in gauging these things. We are all of the same humanity. We are all the same.

Do you think the Indian audience is ready for a film about elephants, something that we have seen almost four decades ago? Do think they will enjoy this genre again and accept it?

VJ: There is no question of 'again' and 'accepting'. They are ready and have been waiting for it. This is the right time. We have not had it for 40 years. Why? We have no idea. Why are we making it right now? We are just lucky. So, we are ready and we have been waiting for it.

How has your experience been working with Chuck Russell?

VJ: I think because he has seen a whole lot of success, worked with so many talented people and enjoyed the work that he has done, everything falls in place. You can see that in his movies. When anyone sees Junglee they ask me, is it so different because it is Chuck Russell? And I say yes, it is Chuck Russell and it is also different because it caters to everybody. He is the person who says that I will give you exactly what you want and I will give it you in a natural, organic way. That is the best thing about Chuck and the best thing about Junglee.

What do you want the audience to take back from the film?

CR: I mostly want them to be entertained. My first job is to have happy audiences coming out saying that we had an experience that reminds us that we are human. We had an experience that reminds us about our love for animals. We had an experience we could take our sons and daughters to and we can now talk about at home. So, I think that is just joy. I want to entertain them and inspire them.

Second, I want to start conversations. People who watch documentaries about the crises of elephants are not going to buy ivory. But people who come to be entertained might walk away saying that if I grew up with an elephant, I would be extremely upset about how an elephant is killed for the ivory.

I hope to convey that through his performance, and the spirit of the elephant we used and who made that come to life for us. Elephants are spirited animals. They are social animals. We didn't have trained elephants. We have safety protocols. Their personalities come out. We shot only in their home. We used special effects to make it look like night, but we shot in the day. The elephants were real and in their natural space. I played Beethoven to them and it worked.

VJ: We let the audience discover it. There is great warmth in the story, great adventure and comedy. They can ponder over it later. A ripple in a pond is small but the effect can be big. They may not buy an ivory chest. It may be a small thought, but it will expand into the bigger issue about elephants losing their territory. That is the only message. Did you like Bhola? Then think about the natural habitat of all these animals.