EXCLUSIVE: Aftab Shivdasani promises that Welcome To The Jungle is a “LAUGH RIOT”: “It’s a situational comedy, like Hera Pheri and Awara Paagal Deewana”; also says “Akshay Kumar and I understand each other’s humour very well”

By Fenil Seta -

October 23, 2024 - 4:00 PM IST

Aftab Shivdasani hasn’t been seen much on celluloid off late. But in his 25th year as an adult actor, he’s all set to bounce back and appear in some interesting films. One of the biggest films in his kitty is Welcome To The Jungle. It reunites him with Akshay Kumar with whom he has worked before in Awara Paagal Deewana (2002), Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani (2002), Deewane Huye Paagal (2005; in a cameo) and Kambakkht Ishq (2009). He also posted a funny ‘then and now’ picture with the star, which was lapped up by the fans.

EXCLUSIVE: Aftab Shivdasani promises that Welcome To The Jungle is a “LAUGH RIOT”: “It’s a situational comedy, like Hera Pheri and Awara Paagal Deewana”; also says “Akshay Kumar and I understand each other’s humour very well”

Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke with Aftab Shivdasani and he said, “I have done 4 films with Akshay. He’s very chilled with me and we understand each other’s humour very well. I also respect him a lot and I was looking up to him even before (my debut film), Mast (1999). I hugely admire his discipline.”

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A post shared by Aftab Shivdasani (@aftabshivdasani)

Talking about the funny Instagram post, he revealed, “We had clicked a picture while shooting for Kambakkht Ishq in 2008. When I joined Welcome To The Jungle, I said, ‘We need to match our earlier picture’! That’s how the pic was clicked. Once I posted it, a lot of people reacted well and were happy. For me, Welcome To The Jungle was also special as it gave me a chance to work with Firoz Nadiadwala, whom I had worked with before in Awara Paagal Deewana. Director Ahmed Khan is a dear friend and he was also one of the kids in Mr India (1987; in which Aftab was also seen as a child artist). I had worked with him as a choreographer but never as a director. We have known each other for 37 years, which is a long time.”

Aftab Shivdasani further spoke about Welcome To The Jungle, “It’s a reunion of sorts. I have worked with Suniel Anna (Suniel Shetty), Paresh sir (Paresh Rawal), Johny sir (Johny Lever), Rajpal Yadav, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade and Jaggu da (Jackie Shroff) but in different films. To work with all of them in the same film is quite maddening! It’s a lot of fun; it’s like a circus!”

Aftab also added, “I also have a picture with Jaggu da, with whom I had worked in Kya Yehi Pyaar Hai (2002). I’ll post at some point; not now!”

What can viewers expect from Welcome To The Jungle? Aftab Shivdasani replied, “It’s a laugh riot and it’s a film that you can watch with your entire family. It’s the kind of film you’d like to watch. It’s a situational comedy, in the space of Hera Pheri and Awara Paagal Deewana. Also, it has a huge stellar star cast.”

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A post shared by Aftab Shivdasani (@aftabshivdasani)

The other comedy that Aftab Shivdasani is a part of is Masti 4, co-starring Vivek Oberoi and Riteish Deshmukh. The dashing actor stated, “I am looking forward to it. I think it’ll be the funniest film of the franchise, in my opinion. The casting of the three boys remains the same. Milap Zaveri, who wrote the first 2 Masti films, and who’s now an accomplished director, is directing it while Indu ji (Indra Kumar) is producing it. We go on floors early next year.”

And that’s not all. On his birthday this year, June 25, Aftab Shivdasani announced that he had signed Kasoor, co-starring Urvashi Rautela. Aftab said, “This is a psychological cum horror film. It’s not a sequel. It’s an independent film and it coincidentally has the same title (as my 2001 film). When people see the title and me, they’ll obviously co-relate with the earlier Kasoor. (The new Kasoor) has one of the best scripts I have heard in my life. A film like this has not been attempted more; it’s a different type of horror.”