'Sanjay Dutt Went To The US For Treatment': Ahmed Khan On His Exit From Welcome To The Jungle | Exclusive

The third instalment in the Welcome franchise, Welcome To The Jungle has grabbed attention for its star-studded ensemble, comprising of 34 actors. Along with the likes of Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Jackie Shroff and Arshad Warsi, among others, Sanjay Dutt was also roped in to play a pivotal part in the film.

However, he eventually backed out as his dates were reportedly clashing with the schedule. Now, speaking exclusively to News18, director Ahmed Khan finally breaks silence on Sanjay’s exit from the film. “Sanju baba loved the script and he really wanted to be a part of the film. Film mein itne saare friends the unke – Jaggu dada (Jackie Shroff), Akshay etc. He was thrilled,” he tells us.

In fact, the Munna Bhai MBBS and Dhurandhar actor had

also shot for Welcome To The Jungle before he left for the USA. Citing the reason behind it, Ahmed says, “We shot a part of the film with him. But he had date issues. He had to go to the US. He went there for his treatment and I couldn’t shift the dates of so many actors.”

Sanjay, however, didn’t leave the makers in the lurch. “He graciously called Suniel Shetty and told him to play the character that he was supposed to play and requested Jackie Shroff to play the role that Suniel Shetty was initially set to play. He set up a solution for his unavailability. We’ll always remain grateful to baba for that,” he recalls.

But putting a film with 34 actors together was no cakewalk. Talking about the challenges he faced, Ahmed remarks, “It was tough to get the dates of Johnny (Lever) bhai and Paresh (Rawal) bhai. They’re very busy actors. It was also tough to get the dates of Arshad and Akshay. What Akshay does is give his dates in bulk and finishes a film. But it wasn’t possible in this case.”

“He gave us his dates in bulk but we couldn’t finish the film in those many days, so we would ask him for more time. We took his dates thrice and he gave us that willingly. He told me, ‘Ahmed, tu bina koi tension liye film bana.’ He used to call me once in the morning and once at night. He would ask me, ‘Are you fine? Tu theek hai?’ He would also call my wife to check if all’s well,” he adds.

Lauding Akshay, Ahmed states that Welcome To The Jungle came to fruition due to the support Akshay lent to him even in times of crisis. “That touched my heart. It really motivated me. He’s a true friend. Who does this? Actors ulte apne dukh dard rote hai ki main subah nahi paaunga ya aaj mujhe jaldi chhod dena. He was a strong pillar of support.” he says.

On a related note, Welcome To The Jungle collected an estimated ₹63.75 crore nett in India across its opening weekend. According to the latest box office tracking, it grossed over ₹93.20 crore worldwide, inching close to the ₹100 crore mark.