Shanti

Shanti (originally known as The Girl) is a minor character in Disney's 1967 animated feature film The Jungle Book, and the tritagonist of its 2003 sequel. She is a little girl from the Man Village known for her lovely singing voice and beautiful eyes. When Mowgli the "man-cub" first encounters Shanti, he becomes so entranced by her beauty that he decides to leave the jungle in favor of living amongst humans in the village.
==Background==
===Development===
When the creative team couldn't devise a way to convince Mowgli to go to the Man Village after spending the entire film avoiding it, Walt Disney looked for inspirations in the endings to both volumes of The Jungle Book and saw that Mowgli did eventually fall in love with a girl from a village and served as one of the reasons why Mowgli decided to stay with his own kind forever. Then Walt suggested having a girl lure Mowgli to the village and the idea stuck.
===Personality===
Shanti is best described as a sweet, rational, and hard-working young girl. She has always been very driven, particularly in maintaining a dependable framework of order and stability, showcasing her collectivist mindset and high sense of community as a result of having been raised to be a dutiful and obedient daughter who honors her family. However, her respect for rules can sometimes make her uptight and she takes it upon herself to restore order whenever her friends misbehave. Shanti takes great pride in her culture and the village's way of life, dedicating everything in her power for the good of her community, finding much honor and dignity in labor.
Despite her uptight exterior, Shanti is somewhat of a dreamer and has her own deep fantasies. Her biggest dream is to be a housewife and to make the village more productive, as the village community itself is her source of comfort. Although she tends to keep her softer side to herself, preferring to express it when she is, or thinks she is, alone. However, she generally opens her kittenish side to Mowgli, gladly flirting with him and opening herself to his charm. Though she tends to deny her romantic feelings for the man-cub when she is around other people, fearing it would subject her to mockery, despite the fact that the entire village seems to support them. It is even hinted at in the second film that Mowgli and Shanti's families have arranged for them to marry once they come of age when Ranjan's father compares his first meeting with Messua with Mowgli and Shanti's first meeting, as well as him encouraging Shanti to not be ashamed of her feelings and reminding her how beautiful young love is.
Before Shanti met Mowgli, she had virtually no interest in adventures or physical ambitions, as they were most likely impeded by her introversion, timidness and duties to her family, preferring to stay within her comfort zone at all times. Her unwillingness to take more chances in life gradually faded when she forced herself out of her comfort zone by entering the jungle to save Mowgli, whom she believed was kidnapped.
Shanti would soon confront her worst nightmare, being helpless before a jungle predator, when she was hypnotized by Kaa. After Ranjan saved her life from the snake, Shanti shows considerably fewer symptoms of her agrizoophobia, suggesting that her encounter with Kaa may ironically have been therapeutic for her. She also gradually shows more confidence in the jungle, such as focusing more on finding Mowgli instead of maintaining vigilance and finding the courage to defend herself, Mowgli, and Ranjan when Baloo "attacked" them, rather than panicking like she did the night before.
Shanti's time in the jungle allowed her to discover that she truly is a brave girl, remaining determined, resilient and never wavering from her loyalty and commitment to help Mowgli. After the skirmish with Shere Khan, Shanti was finally purged of her agrizoophobia for good. Indeed, Shanti entered the jungle as a timid, frightened and introverted damsel in distress, but returned to the village as a brave, assertive and plucky girl. 
Despite Shanti's initial fear of wild animals, she displayed no desire to harm them. This is shown when she told Ranjan to leave Kaa alone, despite knowing he tried to eat her moments before. This also shows that Shanti is a forgiving person even to those who have wronged her, as demonstrated by her reaction to the prank Mowgli and Ranjan played on her. After being pushed into the village river and left soaking wet, Shanti scolded Mowgli for the cruel mischief but held no grudge against him, showcasing her maturity. Despite that, when she found out that Mowgli tried to have Baloo scare her away in case she found him, she was heartbroken and found it difficult to forgive the boy to the point where she refused to listen to Mowgli's attempts to explain himself. However, she came to forgive the man-cub once she finally understood the true nature of his attachment to the jungle.
Shanti and Mowgli have different opinions on the jungle, usually leading to friendly or sometimes serious arguments. In many ways, Shanti's mindset is the opposite of Mowgli's. While Mowgli is rebellious, wild, naïve, and carefree, Shanti is compliant, civilized, mature, and responsible. Despite that, Mowgli has had a rather positive influence on Shanti and vice versa. Mowgli has inspired Shanti to become braver and not to grow up too fast while Shanti has inspired Mowgli to embrace responsibility and work ethics. The two learning from each other proved to be a key factor in developing their relationship.
Despite Shanti's serious nature, she is far from being devoid of child-like traits and often displays her playful side. Especially around Mowgli, who is capable of charming her into loosening up and letting out her fun-loving side, and occasionally she enjoys flirting with him. Being flirtatious is one of her most iconic traits, coming from her being the most beautiful girl in the village. In fact, there are some instances in which her flirty demeanor borders on seductive, such as the day she met Mowgli. Upon meeting Mowgli, Shanti found the boy to be mysterious and lured him to the village so she could get to know him. When seeing his reluctance, she noticed how the man-cub gazed into her eyes. She used this to her advantage by half-closing her eyes, looking at the boy in a seductive manner, followed by a playful blink. After that day, Shanti's beautiful eyes became a recurring element in her relationship with Mowgli. Whenever Mowgli shows Shanti a good time, she usually opens her more kittenish side as she shows her appreciation and gratitude by letting the boy look into her eyes followed by batting her eyelashes, knowing how special her eyes are to him.
Shanti is also remarkably intelligent. Although living in a rural village restricts her from formal education, she is a very shrewd, perceptive and logical thinker who pays attention to detail. She was able to use those traits to lure Mowgli into the village, using her feminine charms after noticing how dazzled he was by her beauty. She has also been known to use mathematical precision recreationally, such as teaching herself a trick launching a mango to the air and let a tree branch peel it in a way so refined that not even Mowgli was able to replicate accurately. While looking for Mowgli in the jungle, Shanti was able to determine the man-cub's proximity by analyzing a curly-shaped mango peel that had been recently peeled and was taught to Mowgli by her. When hiding from Shere Khan, Baloo banged a gong to draw the tiger's attention to him, but Shanti quickly came up with a plan; signal her friends to keep banging their respective gongs to confuse Shere Khan long enough for the trio to sneak away. Her intelligence resulted in her being somewhat down-to-earth, as her use of probability initially made her skeptical of Mowgli's jungle stories, taking them with a grain of salt.
Even though there is no relation, Shanti treats Mowgli's adoptive brother Ranjan as if he were her own, most likely because of her mother's and Messua's close friendship. She takes some of her time to teach Ranjan how to behave and stay safe and tries to convince him that she's a better role model than Mowgli.
Like Mowgli, Shanti is also very popular among the children of the Man Village, who admire her for her status as the most beautiful girl in the village and for her methodical mind, looking to her for a sense of stability and normalcy. They even occasionally encourage her to take a break from her chores to participate in Mowgli's entertaining activities.
===Physical appearance===
Shanti is a preteen, slender girl blessed with incredible beauty. She has brown skin, brown eyes, long sleek black hair, black eyebrows, red bindi on her forehead, and gold hoop earrings.
In The Jungle Book, Shanti wore a pink strapless dress with a red waist belt, and her hair was tied into pigtails by pink bows.
In The Jungle Book 2, her appearance was updated. This time historically accurate to how Indian girls at her age commonly dressed in the late 19th century. She retains her bindi, earrings, and is still barefoot but wears an indigo lehenga skirt made from cotton, a cream-yellow sari blouse that exposes her midriff, and her hair has a conventional Indian style, braided in a ponytail.
==Appearances==
===The Jungle Book===
Shanti plays a minor role as an unnamed beautiful peasant girl near the end of The Jungle Book. While celebrating the victory over Shere Khan, Mowgli hears an angelic voice singing and follows it to its source. The boy follows the voice to the Man Village and spots a creature he has never seen before: a human girl. Mowgli requests a better look, and while Baloo unsuccessfully attempts to stop him, Bagheera gleefully encourages him on. Shanti stops by a river near the village entrance to collect water in her jug. Before doing so, she takes a moment to fantasize about owning her own home and family as the dazzled Mowgli looks on. Mowgli falls off the branch of the tree he was looking down at her from and into the river, where he is easily noticed by the young maiden.
Curious about the mysterious newcomer, Shanti tries to politely convince him to come with her to the village, only to be met with reluctance and timidness. Not wanting to force him to come, Shanti fills her jug with water and heads back to the village until she notices Mowgli is following her. Hoping to lead him into the village, she pretends to accidentally drop the jug. Mowgli refills the jug and offers it to her, only to receive flirting signals from the girl as she offers him to come with her to the village. Mowgli falls for her trick and follows her. At the village entrance, Mowgli hesitates and looks back at his animal guardians across the river with uncertainty. As Shanti stops by the gate to see if Mowgli is coming, she briefly winks at him, and the man-cub looks into her beautiful flirtatious eyes and becomes infatuated with her. Unable to resist his humanity, Mowgli accompanies Shanti to the village and begins a new life.
===The Jungle Book 2===
Shanti serves as the tritagonist of The Jungle Book 2, taking place two years after The Jungle Book. Since the end of the original film, Shanti has developed a close friendship with Mowgli and has been tasked with guiding him through the work hours, allowing the two to interact and bond on a daily basis. At the beginning of the film, Mowgli tells the story of his life in the jungle to his new foster family, Shanti and her mother in the form of a shadow puppet show. Despite being entertained, Shanti expresses a small degree of skepticism when Mowgli states that his closest friends were a panther and a bear. Although Ranjan accidentally ruins the show, the audience laugh it off. Mowgli wonders how he will be able to finish the story but Ranjan thinks it is unnecessary as the audience already knows the ending as he reminds everyone how Mowgli fell for Shanti's eyes and followed her into the village. Shanti is quick to deny this but Mowgli gleefully recalls the day they first met, leading to the two exchanging flirtatious remarks. Ranjan's Father, aware of their feelings for each other, tells Shanti that she has nothing to be embarrassed about and that he is grateful to her for bringing Mowgli to their lives. As Shanti and her mother are about to go home, Shanti thanks Mowgli for the fun evening by blinking her eyes at him, knowing the boy has a soft spot for her lovely eyes, and bids him goodnight. Mowgli mischievously plays on her fears by warning her about Shere Khan lurking around, making her uneasy at first but quickly brushes it off by debunking the probability of such things happening. Once she is out of earshot, Mowgli and Ranjan plan to pull a prank on the girl the next morning.
Morning comes, and the boys notice Shanti humming "My Own Home" as she heads to the river and follow her. As she fetches water, Mowgli surprises her by dropping down from the tree above her. Once again, Mowgli plays on Shanti's fears by warning her of the possibility of Shere Khan lurking around and once the girl lets her guard down, Ranjan emerges from the bushes and scares her, causing her to fall into the river, and the boys laugh at the now-soaking wet Shanti. Enraged, she heads back to the village to dry off and takes Ranjan with her after deeming Mowgli a bad influence on him. Ranjan questions Shanti's fear of the jungle, but her only reply is that it is dangerous. Her answer confuses Ranjan as it contradicts what Mowgli has told him about the jungle. Shanti warns him not to believe everything Mowgli tells him, suspecting he may have exaggerated his experience in the jungle. Knowing she has a crush on Mowgli, Ranjan is surprised to hear her doubts about him. Shanti admits she does like Mowgli as more than a friend but stops talking as she realizes Mowgli heard her, prompting her to blush in embarrassment. Mowgli attempts to convince his friend and brother that the jungle offers a life that the village cannot and demonstrates this by showing them a peeling trick. Shanti is unimpressed and debunks Mowgli's point by demonstrating an even more impressive peeling trick on a mango and reiterates her earlier statement about not listening to everything Mowgli says. Mowgli insists that Shanti speaks out of ignorance and tells every present child that there is so much more to the jungle than just danger. Though skeptical, Shanti is amused by Mowgli's charisma and plays along as he rallies the village children until she notices he is trying to lead them into the jungle. She panics and inadvertently alerts Ranjan's father, who grounds Mowgli for his disobedience. She tries to apologize, but Mowgli refuses to talk to her. Later that night, Shanti, feeling guilty for getting Mowgli into trouble, brings a bowl of fruit to Mowgli's hut to make amends.
Little does she know Shere Khan is waiting in the shadows of the village for Mowgli. Shanti soon finds Mowgli with Baloo and shouts at the sight of the bear and alerts the villagers of a wild animal. This awakens the villagers and they attack Shere Khan, thinking him to be the animal Shanti is referring to. During the havoc, Shanti sees Baloo and Mowgli flee for the jungle and the villagers are too preoccupied with Shere Khan to listen to her. Desperate and believing that Mowgli is being kidnapped, Shanti pursues them on her own, unaware that Ranjan is following her. She hesitates by the river as she sees Baloo running into the jungle but forces herself to go in after them for Mowgli's sake. In the jungle, Shanti's agrizoophobia kicks in as she heads deeper into the wilderness and encounters various frightening nocturnal creatures. She waves her torch in every direction to defend herself but unfortunately, this tactic backfires when she accidentally burns Kaa's coils and exposes herself to him. The ravenous python begins stalking the girl and waits for the right moment to trap her.
Once Shanti realizes she is not alone, she faces her worst nightmare when Kaa reveals himself to the girl, and due to her poor survival skills, the snake is easily able to frighten her into looking directly into his eyes and hypnotize her. Shanti gives a brief smile in response to the overwhelming bliss when the hypnosis starts taking effect but due to her vulnerable emotional state, the hypnosis numbs her mind quickly, resulting in her smile fading away as her mouth is left hanging. She drops her torch, leaving her defenseless. Kaa sadistically gloats and taunts playfully as Shanti's mouth hangs while she stares into the snake's alluring eyes. Kaa inquires condescendingly whether Shanti is lost, stroking her hair before making her nod her head in agreement. He then slithers around the young damsel in distress and makes her turn around, allowing him to admire the girl's beauty as she develops an enormous dumb grin in response to the flood of blissful thoughts induced in her mind by the snake. Having teased her enough, Kaa whispers into her ear that he is starving, bragging about her impending doom. Shanti's smile grows wider and more placid with every second as Kaa makes the helpless girl position herself to be eaten by him. Kaa has Shanti stand on a rock as he prepares to strike. Fortunately, Ranjan saves Shanti's life by pulling her away, leaving Kaa to swallow the rock, while Shanti hits the ground and instantly snaps out of the trance. As Ranjan begins beating Kaa up with a stick, Shanti wakes up in confusion while Ranjan chases the snake away. She is about to take Ranjan back to the village before he convinces her to let him help her.
The next day, as they still search for Mowgli, Shanti realizes that she is completely lost and is out of ideas until Ranjan finds several curly-shaped mango peelings, which Shanti recognizes as the peeling trick she taught him earlier and concludes that her friend is not far.
That same evening, Ranjan gets tired, so Shanti gives him a piggyback ride on her back. Before long, they both hear Mowgli's singing nearby and rush to the source. Shanti finds Mowgli sitting on a tree branch and rushes to him, overjoyed. She catches Mowgli by surprise, and the boy falls down and gets tangled up in the vines hanging from the tree. As Shanti and Ranjan try to free him, Shanti asks where Mowgli's "kidnapper" is. Mowgli is about to dodge the issue when Baloo suddenly arrives at the scene and attempts to scare Shanti away, only to be caught in the vines and get punched in the nose by the girl.
Mowgli chastises Baloo for scaring his friend, but the confused bear recalls Mowgli being the one who told him to do so, much to Shanti and Ranjan's surprise. Mowgli regrettably admits that he did, in fact, plan this, which breaks Shanti's heart, and on the verge of tears, she runs off with Ranjan in a tow. Baloo confronts Mowgli about his indecisiveness and reiterates his statement that Shanti is nothing but trouble. Mowgli denies his claim and goes after Shanti and Ranjan to apologize but finds them standing in fear as Shere Khan has found them. Mowgli tells them to run to safety as the tiger approaches. Mowgli then throws dust at his eyes and runs. Shere Khan goes after him. Mowgli tells Shanti and Ranjan to stay hidden and continues to run. Shanti's concern for Mowgli allows her to conquer her fear of wild animals and runs after him but orders Ranjan to stay hidden until she comes back. Ranjan attempts to follow her but encounters Baloo and warns him of what is happening. At the same time, Bagheera encounters the two and assists them. Shanti follows as Shere Khan chases Mowgli to an ancient temple where they are forced to hide in the shadows. Bagheera looks after Ranjan while Baloo rushes to the temple in order to aid the children.
She runs into Baloo, and they start arguing until they realize their mutual goal to help Mowgli. Baloo suggests they cooperate, which Shanti agrees to, and they each hide behind a gong and bang them to confuse Shere Khan, diverting his attention in hopes that it will allow them to sneak away. Unfortunately, Shanti's gong falls, revealing herself to Shere Khan. He calls to Mowgli and threatens to kill Shanti unless he gives himself up. To ensure her safety, Mowgli reveals himself to the tiger, who immediately attacks him. Baloo tries to restrain Shere Khan as Shanti rushes to Mowgli and the two make a run for it. Shere Khan breaks free from Baloo and runs after the children, who leap upon a huge stone tiger head overlooking a lava lake. As they climb, Shere Khan goes after them. However, the stone head collapses, and it falls with Mowgli, Shere Khan, and Shanti. Luckily, Baloo catches the children as Shere Khan falls to a ledge and is trapped by the head.
The trio leaves the temple and reunites with Bagheera and Ranjan. As Shanti is introduced to Bagheera, they spot the village search party nearby. Shanti is delighted, but Mowgli is reluctant to go, hoping Shanti would stay with him and his old family in the jungle instead. Although Shanti has come to understand why Mowgli loves the jungle, she knows she can never be a part of it like he is. Shanti takes Ranjan and slowly heads towards the search party, and just like the day they first met, Shanti lets Mowgli decide for himself whether or not he wants to come with her. Having gained respect for Shanti for her loyalty and courage, Baloo is convinced that Mowgli is in good hands and realizes that the man-cub loves the girl too much to let her go. As such, Baloo encourages the boy to go. Mowgli catches up with Shanti and decides he wants to go back with her, much to her joy. Mowgli, Shanti, and Ranjan then reunite with their families. Shanti watches in awe as Mowgli reconciles with his adoptive father and is flattered when Ranjan reveals to everyone that he saved her life from a snake. The search party then heads back to the village.
A few days later, Mowgli and Shanti head to the river to get some water, accompanied by Ranjan. However, their main intention is to visit Baloo and Bagheera. The trio meets with them and begins touring the jungle while singing "Bare Necessities." As the group meanders into the jungle, Mowgli and Shanti hold hands as the film ends, entering a romantic relationship.
===It's a Small World: The Animated Series===
Shanti makes a brief cameo in the episode "A Jolly Holi Day", being followed by a lovestruck Mowgli as she carries an urn of water atop her head. She, in her original design from the original film, also made a major appearance in the same episode, showing the six international friends India and the holiday "Holi".
===Once Upon a Studio===
Shanti, in her original design from the original film, makes a brief cameo in this short film appearing in the group photo along with the rest of Disney characters.
==Video games==
===The Jungle Book Groove Party===
Shanti appears at the very end of the game, although her voice can be heard humming a song in the middle. Following the film's story, Mowgli meets Shanti, and the two become smitten with one another. As Shanti returns to the village, she invites Mowgli to join her, which he accepts.
===Kinect: Disneyland Adventures===
Shanti herself does not appear in the game, but she is mentioned by Mowgli when he assigns the player one of his tasks. This is one of the only pieces of media that refers to Shanti as her name given in The Jungle Book 2 rather than simply "The Girl".
==Disney Parks==
Shanti currently makes no live appearances in the Disney theme parks. Prior to 2000, Shanti had a role in the Animal Kingdom show Journey into the Jungle Book, following her role in the film and leading Mowgli into the Man-Village.
==Differences from the source material==
*Although Shanti is technically a character made up by Disney, she was heavily inspired by Abdul Gafur's unnamed daughter whom Mowgli fell in love with, hence making Shanti her Disney counterpart.
*Like Shanti, Abdul Gafur's daughter was very beautiful, sweet, and served the story as Mowgli's love interest who helped him adjust to a new life in civilization. However, Shanti is a much more developed character than Gafur's daughter and displays significantly more personality in The Jungle Book 2.
*Gafur's daughter was the daughter of a butler who served a wealthy English family. While Shanti is considerably more humble and comes from a peasant family.
*Gafur's daughter was from the village of Khanhiwara, a British-controlled community 30 miles outside the Seoni hills and she and Mowgli met when they were teenagers. While Shanti was from the Seoni Man Village and she met Mowgli when they were 10 years old.
*In the books, it is revealed that Gafur's daughter was Muslim. While not explicitly stated in the Disney films, Shanti's bindi suggests that she is Hindu.
*In the books, it is revealed that Mowgli will marry Gafur's daughter, have children with her and spend the rest of his life with his new family. But while Mowgli and Shanti share romantic feelings for each other, their future marriage is merely hinted at in the song "My Own Home."
*Unlike Shanti, Gafur's daughter was not afraid of the jungle. Instead she was fascinated with Mowgli's ability to communicate with animals.
*Shanti was the first human Mowgli laid eyes on whereas Gafur's daughter was introduced to him by her father and Mowgli was already familiar with mankind, having lived in a different village as a child and was adopted by Messua.
==Relationships==
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*In The Jungle Book, Shanti was only known as The Girl. In the sequel, it was revealed that her name is Shanti.
*Shanti's animation in The Jungle Book was used as a reference by Mark Henn when animating Ariel in The Little Mermaid.
*In The Jungle Book 2, Shanti follows the tradition of The Jungle Book adaptations of serving as the love interest who helps Mowgli adjust to the human way of life.
*Shanti's appearance in the Jungle Book is far from the one in the Jungle Book 2. In the first film, she is shown with pigtails and bows in her hair and wears pink, depicting a more feminine nature. Feeling that this design had become outdated, the sequel's crew gave her a more appropriate design that better reflects what a common girl would look like in central India during the 1890's, emphasizing more on cultural accuracy than her femininity.
*In The Jungle Book 2, Shanti had a solo to sing about her fear of the jungle and how she must find the strength to conquer her fear, but the scene was deleted on account of Disney producers deciding that the song would take too much attention from Mowgli and the story plot.
*Shanti was originally meant to be much more feisty and confident in The Jungle Book 2. However, the producers felt she would work better as a foil to Mowgli and as a result rewrote her personality to be more conformist, rational and agrizoophobic, allowing her to experience character growth that would culminate in her finding her courage and conquering her fear of the jungle, becoming more confident in the end.
*The name Shanti means "peace" in Hindi, reflecting Shanti's desire for a safe and peaceful life.
*Her signature song, "My Own Home", heavily suggests that she will become Mowgli's wife in the future.
*Shanti's father was mentioned to be a hunter in the original film but was absent in the sequel. This has led some fans to believe that her father was killed by a wild animal (particularly Shere Khan) at some point, thus triggering her fear of the jungle and wild animals. However, as neither she nor her mother expressed any grief during The Jungle Book 2, it is possible that her father was simply on a hunting trip during the events of the film.
**Some fans have also speculated whether or not her father is Buldeo the hunter, a deleted character from the original film's earlier drafts, who was also the father of Mowgli's love interest from Zoltan Korda's Jungle Book (1942).
*Shanti knows better peeling tricks than Mowgli.
*Despite not being a feral child, Shanti is able to understand Baloo.
*Shanti in The Jungle Book 2 bears much resemblance to Mahala from Zoltan Korda's Jungle Book. Like Shanti, Mahala is also barefoot, wears a choli and lehenga skirt, and is the daughter of a hunter. As was with Shanti, Mahala also served as Mowgli's love interest who was at first skeptical about Mowgli's life in the jungle being exactly the way he described, was afraid of wild animals, and was once hypnotized by a snake.
*Not counting song lyrics, humming, a brief giggle, and a minor gasp, Shanti does not have any dialogue in the original film.
*Shanti was Darleen Carr's second and final film role with Disney, preceding Sidoni Riserau from Monkeys, Go Home!.
*A line cut from the video game adaptation (likely added as an in-joke by the developers) suggests that Mowgli was attracted to her legs and later did something rather inappropriate to her.
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