In the 1942 film The Jungle Book, Sabu plays Mowgli.
Sabu, born Selar Sabu, was an Indian actor who became internationally known as a child performer. He had already appeared in films such as Elephant Boy before starring as Mowgli in Zoltán Korda’s Technicolor adaptation of Kipling’s stories. His athletic screen presence suited the film’s emphasis on jungle adventure.
The 1942 production was made by Alexander Korda’s London Films and directed by Zoltán Korda. It uses elements from Kipling but is not a direct scene-by-scene rendering of the 1894 collection. The story expands the jungle setting and presents Mowgli in a more conventional adventure-film structure.
This casting is often confused with later versions. Bruce Reitherman voiced Mowgli in Disney’s 1967 animated film, while Neel Sethi played him in Disney’s 2016 film. Sabu’s performance belongs to the earlier live-action adaptation, which received several Academy Award nominations for its visual and sound work.