MEGA EXCLUSIVE: Firoz Nadiadwala reveals that Welcome’s third part will be called Welcome To The Jungle: “It’ll be made on a scale which has been never been seen before in Indian cinema”

By Fenil Seta -

December 16, 2022 - 10:00 AM IST

Welcome (2007), directed by Anees Bazmee and produced by Firoz Nadiadwala, continues to be one of the most loved films of all time and in the last few years, the memes kept the craze alive. The sequel to Welcome, Welcome Back, was released in 2015, and it also worked in cinemas. And now Firoz Nadiadwala is busy planning the third part of Welcome. In an exclusive interaction with Bollywood Hungama, he opened up about his ambitious plans.

MEGA EXCLUSIVE: Firoz Nadiadwala reveals that Welcome’s third part will be called Welcome To The Jungle: “It’ll be made on a scale which has been never been seen before in Indian cinema”

Firoz Nadiadwala told Bollywood Hungama, “Welcome 3 mostly will be called Welcome To The Jungle. It’ll retain the humour, wit and entertainment that is associated with this franchise and moreover, it’ll be based against a military action backdrop. The action will be huge in this film. We’ll make use of the 'huey' helicopters and for the first time in an Indian film, aircraft carriers will be used in action scenes. It’ll be made on a scale which has never been seen before in Indian cinema in terms of production value, grandeur etc.”

Firoz Nadiadwala continued, “Towards the end, it’ll have a very strong and emotional patriotic touch. 65-70% of the film will be set in the jungle. We hopefully will go on floors next year. We’ll have real ex-military people on board who’ll guide us on how to handle big guns, RPG, SAM (surface-to-air missile) and other such solid military hardware.”

When asked where it’ll be shot and other details, he replied, “It’ll be filmed either in Jammu & Kashmir or some parts of Europe, where there are thick jungles. So it all depends on the climate and the time we are shooting.”

Firoz Nadiadwala made it clear that while mounting the film on a huge canvas, he won’t compromise on the script and other important elements, “The idea is to make the best movie, not the biggest movie. Money can help you make a big film, but it will not help you to make the best movie. What I mean is that it has to be the best film creatively, technically, scale-wise and in terms of casting. Movies like Sholay, Ben Hur, Avatar etc are best in terms of emotion, storytelling, and characters first followed by the scale. It’s like the difference between good food and expensive food. First, you cook the best food and then you charge whatever you want. We want to ensure that Welcome To The Jungle is a milestone in entertainment family cinema in terms of characterization, storytelling, screenplay, dialogues, nuances, mannerisms and action.”

Firoz Nadiadwala is yet to sign actors for Welcome To The Jungle but he assured, “It’ll have a big star cast. All the main characters will indulge in action, including the actresses.”

Welcome starred Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Feroz Khan, Mallika Sherawat and Paresh Rawal. Welcome Back, meanwhile, featured John Abraham, Shruti Haasan, Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia and Shiney Ahuja while Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar reprised the roles of Majnu bhai and Uday bhai respectively.

Also Read: Firoz Nadiadwala locks 2 scripts of Hera Pheri 3 – One for Akshay Kumar and another for Kartik Aaryan