From Simba to Scar: Arvind Swami’s ‘Lion King’ connection

Actor has voiced both Disney characters, 25 years apart

Arvind Swami will voice the character of Scar in the 2019 version of ‘The Lion King’.

In 1994, when animated film The Lion King hit screens for the first time, Kollywood actor Arvind Swami was associated with the project by becoming a voice actor for the Tamil dubbed version. Who did he voice? None other than Simba!

Now, 25 years later, Disney India has roped in the actor again for the 2019 remake of the movie, to voice-star in the Tamil version. However, this time an older Swami will voice the film’s main villain, Simba’s uncle Scar, who audiences got a terrifying first glimpse of in the trailer.

He took to Twitter to confirm the news. “Last time it was Simba, this time we chose Scar... had a lot of fun doing it. Hope u guys like it.” Actor Siddharth will voice Simba in the Tamil version.

“It was a great learning experience dubbing for an animated film over 20 years ago when I dubbed for Simba in

The Lion King . When I was approached this time around to dub for a character in the new version of The Lion King I preferred to dub for Scar as I saw the character as the most interesting and multidimensional. It was an enriching professional experience,” Arvind Swami said in a statement.

Directed by Jon Favreau of Iron Man and The Jungle Book fame, The Lion King is scheduled to be released on July 19 in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Disney India had roped in superstar Shah Rukh Khan and his son Aryan to voice King Mufasa and Simba respectively in the film’s Hindi version.