Welcome to the Jungle: Ahmed Khan on calling off song shoot in Dubai

Geopolitical tensions in West Asia are impacting Bollywood’s outdoor shoot plans. The latest casualty is the multi-starrer Welcome to the Jungle. A lavish song schedule in Dubai has been called off, with the makers now recreating the set in Mumbai. Director Ahmed Khan, who had planned a grand overseas shoot with the ensemble cast, confirmed the last-minute change owing to the uncertain situation. He says, “We had planned to shoot two songs in Dubai. We were supposed to shoot the first song with the entire cast, but taking them there is not advisable now. It’s not only about going there and shooting, but also about coming home safely. It’s always safety first. Hence, we decided to shoot the song in Mumbai instead. Firoz Nadiadwala (producer) was all geared up for this shoot in Dubai as he loves shooting his films there.”

Ahmed adds that the song will feature Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Arshad Warsi, Raveena Tandon, Jackie Shroff, Paresh Rawal, Lara Dutta, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez and Shreyas Talpade. The director shares, “The song needs to look very rich and lavish, and we are putting up a set like that across three different places in Mumbai. The shooting will begin on April 16.” Talking about the other song, Ahmed adds, “I hope by May the situation will be better and we’ll be able to shoot our second song in Dubai.”




The film has been in the making for quite some time, and at one point, there were even rumours that it was being shelved. “I’ve given this film my all. The biggest challenge was that 80 per cent of scenes have the entire cast, and that’s why it’s taking so long to wrap up,” he signs off.