Is the casting of Shah Rukh and Aryan Khan a win for Bollywood or nepotism at its worst?

SRK and son to voice Mufasa and Simba in Hindi dub of new The Lion King

Josh Corder

June 18, 2019

18June2019

Josh Corder

It has been announced that King Khan himself, Shah Rukh Khan, will dub the Hindi version of the new live-action remake of Disney's The Lion King as the voice of Mufasa
It has also been revealed that the voice for Simba, Mufasa’s son is in fact Khan’s son Aryan Khan
The casting has stirred a controversy on Twitter where people are saying the choice of Aryan is not right and simply an act of nepotism, something Bollywood has struggled with in the past

Shah Rukh Khan might be in a bit of trouble with fans at the moment as it has been revealed he and his son will be the main voices for the Hindi dubs of Mufasa and Simba respectively. The decision, announced following Father’s Day, has called into question yet again if SRK is simply using nepotism to get his son a role in film.

Though SRK is loved by all for his roles in Bollywood cinema and what he has done for Bollywood as a whole, there is one thing he does that a lot of people aren’t down with. Nepotism.

Back in 2004, SRK and his eldest Aryan, then seven years old, dubbed for The Incredibles film, again in Hindi. Back then, the two did the dubbing for the two main male leads in the cartoon, Mr Incredible and Dash. This was a decision that back then caused some issues as Aryan had no dubbing experience of any kind. Fast forward to now, this is still the only thing in his portfolio in terms of dubbing.

This fact hasn’t seemed to bother the dubbing team for The Lion King though, as the father and son duo are coming back to cover the Hindi version for Mufasa and Simba respectively.

BIGGG NEWS... Shah Rukh Khan teams up with son Aryan to do voice over for Disney's #TheLionKing in HINDI... SRK will do voice over for the King of the Jungle, Lion Mufasa, while Aryan will do voice over for Mufasa’s son Simba... 19 July 2019 release. pic.twitter.com/lWJVK3Zoz5— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) 17 June 2019

The Twitterverse really wasn’t happy to hear this announcement, which came right after Father’s Day. Many are calling Aryan’s inclusion as the voice for Simba as outright nepotism on SRK’s part. Remember that the young man’s only experience prior to this massive film was in The Incredibles as Dash, another act of nepotism.

A few years back, SRK said the following on the matter: "I don't understand this discussion (on nepotism). When I hear the word 'nepotism', I feel the other person is talking about Napoleon. Even though I know enough English, still I don't understand it and the discussion. Whether I agree or disagree -- I don't even understand it so how can I have an opinion?"

Ready for the match with the spirit of #FathersDay. Go India Go!! pic.twitter.com/o09xLTq5d3— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) 16 June 2019

If we were to entertain the idea that this 'IS NOT' nepotism, maybe we could go with the heart-warming notion that both instances of Mr Incredible and Dash and Mufasa and Simba are examples of true father and son casting. Does it not seem a bit more fitting to have an actual father and son voice a father and son dynamic on the big screen?

You can have a look at some of the angriest tweets surrounding the announcement below: