Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty start Mumbai shoot of 'Welcome To The Jungle'; the team builds jungle sets across Film City and Aarey

Mumbai is trading traffic and soundstages for thick, leafy make-believe as the team behind 'Welcome To The Jungle' turns familiar corners of the city into something that looks like deep wilderness. Director Ahmed Khan has started filming the climax, pulling a huge cast into the same frame for stunts, chaos, and that loud, playful energy the franchise leans on. If all goes to plan, the final stretch of production should roll into early next year.

Forest finale built across Mumbai

According to Mid-Day, the climax shoot began on December 5 and is spread across five Mumbai locations, including Film City, Royal Palms, Borivali, and two spots in Aarey Colony. Under production designer Shailesh Mahadik, the crew has built wide, immersive jungle sets that can handle big action beats and controlled stunt setups without the unit having to leave town.




The original idea was to shoot this portion in Uttar Pradesh, but the realities of scale caught up fast, states the report. Moreover. the biting cold was a deterrent. Additionally, the production crew realized that filming in the woodlands with a 500-person unit and a 34-person cast would be logistically impossible. Ahmed and producer Firoz A. Nadiadwala made the decision to move the shoot to Mumbai because of the stunts involved. After this schedule, the unit is expected to travel briefly to North India for aerial and establishing shots of real jungles, the kind of wide views you can’t quite fake no matter how good the set dressing is.

Why familiar faces are missing

Ahmed Khan has also spoken about the sheer juggling act of getting everyone in the same place at the same time. “It’s wonderful that we’re shooting the climax now. Getting so many actors together was the only challenge, but once on sets, it’s a party," he said. An introductory song featuring the entire cast is planned for the second week of January, and then the film is expected to wrap.

Fans have also been buzzing about the absence of Uday and Majnu, originally played by Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor. In an interview with News18 Showsha, Khan explained, “So the thought was very different… Akshay Kumar was in the first one, John Abraham was in the second one, and now again Akshay is in the third one. So it was a complete 360 turnaround from the 'Welcome' series. So it’s okay, people keep coming and going." He added, “No, I mean they were not approached. We did speak to them if they wanted to be a part, but it was not a film for Uday, Majnu, it is a different script."

Directed by Ahmed Khan and produced by Firoz A Nadiadwala, 'Welcome To The Jungle' stars Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Arshad Warsi, Raveena Tandon, Jacqueline Fernandez, Disha Patani, Lara Dutta, Paresh Rawal, Tusshar Kapoor, and more. Khan didn’t sugarcoat the effort either, saying, “Very difficult, but it’s a filmmaker’s journey… a director has to go through hell to make a film.”



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