Bollywood filmmaker Ahmed Khan has made a name for himself in the Hindi entertainment industry as a director, producer, and choreographer. Over the years, he has worked with a lot of celebrities. He is all set to make his return as a director with Welcome To The Jungle, reportedly the third installment of the Welcome film franchise, after his last film Heropanti 2 (2022). Well, the film has been making the headlines, the past week, for all the wrong reasons.
Media reports have suggested that the makers of the film have been facing financial difficulties due to delayed shooting schedules. It has made netizens wonder if the film will be shelved. Now, the director has reacted to the reports and revealed why the shooting of the film was stalled. Shedding light on the matter, he revealed that the team was supposed to travel to Kashmir for their third schedule in June, however, after the Pahalgam attack, they are busy finding another location. He made the revelation during a chat with Bollywood Hungama.
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Quoted by News18, he said, “We’ve already shot two lengthy schedules. We were supposed to shoot in Kashmir in June for a third, long schedule. That would have brought us close to completing the film. But then the Pahalgam tragedy happened. The Kashmir schedule had to be cancelled.”
Since going back to Kashmir is “not feasible,” they might carry out the schedule in Kullu or Himachal Pradesh. Not only are they planning for an entirely new schedule, but they also have to coordinate around 36 actors’ dates and availability. He added. “We have to plan the schedule from scratch in another location. Coordinating the dates of thirty-six actors again is no small task. We’re working on it.”
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When asked about the reports of the makers facing financial issues, he dismissed the question by stating, “I have no idea about that. All financial matters are handled by the producer, Firoz Nadiadwala.”
Welcome To The Jungle stars Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Arshad Warsi, Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever, Rajpal Yadav, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Krushna Abhishek, Kiku Sharda, Daler Mehndi, Mika Singh, Rahul Dev, Mukesh Tiwari, Sharib Hashmi, Inaamulhaq, Zakir Hussain, Yashpal Sharma, Raveena Tandon, Lara Dutta, Jacqueline Fernandez, Disha Patani, Vrihi Kodvara, and others in pivotal roles.
The film is directed by Ahmed Khan. Reportedly, the film is scheduled to release in December 2025, during the Christmas weekend. It is to be noted that the makers are yet to make an official announcement about it.
