Director Ahmed Khan says the decision to move ahead with “Welcome to the Jungle” without iconic characters played by Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor was driven by logistical constraints rather than creative reasons.
Anil and Nana essayed the fan-favourite gangsters Uday Shetty and Majnu Bhai in the franchise's first part "Welcome" in 2007, alongside Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif and Paresh Rawal, and later returned for the second installment, "Welcome Again" in 2015.
The franchise's third instalment, "Welcome To The Jungle", which released in theatres last month, featured a new ensemble cast led by Akshay Kumar but did not include either Anil or Nana.
“Nana was supposed to be a part of the film, I met Anil and he was (also) supposed to be a part of the film. Anil was very busy with his other stuff. Since we, have so many characters (referring to actors) so date manoeuvring was a big issue with everybody.
"So, we thought, if we have to go ahead, let's go ahead with new characters, and it connected us,” Khan, who has directed movies like "Baaghi 2", "Heropanti 2", told PTI in an interview.
“Welcome To The Jungle” revolves around a group of gangsters, criminals and quirky characters whose paths cross in a border-area jungle. What begins as a film-shoot-like operation turns into a series of absurd misadventures involving crime, confusion and action-packed situations.
It stars Akshay Kumar leading a cast that includes 34 actors, including Suneil Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Raveena Tandon, Arshad Warsi, Lara Dutta, Farida Jalal, Kiran Kumar, Jackie Shroff, and others.
Released on June 26, the movie has earned over Rs 144 crore at the global box office but got mixed reviews from critics.
Khan said comedy films may not always receive the same level of critical recognition as other genres, but they continue to earn audiences' love, which he considers the biggest reward.
“Like, in the house, if somebody is making you laugh, you will enjoy meeting that uncle or aunty, but when the father or grandfather walks in a stern way, they will get respect and the uncle or aunty will get love. So, those who will make you laugh will never get respect but they will get the love,” he said.
“I think comedy films will never get the respect but they will get the love, action films will never get the love but will get respect because he is saving the nation, wife, mother, family, and he is standing up tall,” the director said.
Khan described “Welcome to the Jungle” as a “comedy of errors” that is built on a layered narrative involving multiple characters and situations.
“The biggest thing that always works in comedy is comedy of errors, this film is full of comedy of errors,” he said, crediting the film’s writing to the late writer-actor Neeraj Vora’s original idea, which was further developed by Farhad Samji and producer Firoz Nadiadwala.
Khan lauded Kumar’s contribution and his familiarity with the franchise’s humour style.
“…Then to top it all came Akshay, who is known for this kind of poker face humour. He's done all Firoz bhai's films including ‘Hera Pheri’, ‘Awara Pagal Deewana’. ‘Welcome’, they knew each other.
"Then I came in. and what I got in was, I do action films (added action bit in ‘Welcome to Jungle). Then we treated comedy film with action so that it looks like a serious film in which comedy is happening.” The director also said “Welcome to the Jungle” reflects real aspects of the film industry, including untalented actors, ego issues, negotiations with producers, paparazzi culture, among other things, but in a toned-down manner.
“We’ve (barely) shown 20 per cent of things, (rather) more than 80 per cent things happen (in the industry),” he said.
Of the film's 34 characters, Khan said the most difficult to write was the antagonist Zatara, portrayed by Jackie Shroff.
“When you make a humorous film, in that one seems to look down upon on the villain, they can beat him, pull his hair, or throw stones at him. The idea was when he (villain) enters will he be able to create that threat? So, it was difficult to conceive him,” he said, adding that the character was given a menacing look without slipping into parody.
“Welcome to the Jungle” is produced by Star Studio18, Base Industries Group, Cape of Good Films and Seeta Films.
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