‘Welcome to the Jungle’: Jackie Shroff joins cast after Sanjay Dutt’s exit

Following Sanjay Dutt’s departure from Welcome To The Jungle, Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff has joined the Akshay Kumar-starrer film, Indian media reported.  

The Munna Bhai MBBS star stepped back from the star-studded threequel of the superhit comedy franchise ‘Welcome’, due to his health issues as the character he was supposed to play required him to do intense action sequences which he was unable to perform.

The film, which recently wrapped up its Mumbai schedule, is directed by Ahmed Khan and produced by Firoz Nadiadwala.

According to an exclusive report by an Indian media outlet, Firoz Nadiadwala, Ahmed Khan, and Akshay Kumar have roped in Jackie Shroff to play a key role in the film.

“Shroff has been silently shooting for Welcome To The Jungle ever since Sanjay Dutt’s exit from the film. There is a twist in the tale for film as the makers have reworked on the character traits and re-casted for some parts”, stated the report citing a source.

The report further revealed that Suniel Shetty will now be playing the role which was initially written for Sanjay Dutt, while Jackie Shroff has come on board to play the part that Suniel Shetty had signed on for.

“The humour for Suniel’s character comes from his machoism. Jackie on the other hand shares very exciting dynamic with the lead roles and the film presents him in a completely new avatar. The casting change happened back in the day in December and Jackie has already shot considerably for his part in the film,” the report added.

In December 2023, Akshay Kumar put up a heartwarming post welcoming Sanjay Dutt to the movie. Akshay shared a video from the sets in which he was seen riding a horse while Dutt followed him on a motorcycle.

The caption read, “What a lovely coincidence that we celebrate 16 years of #Welcome today while I am shooting for the franchise’s third part #WelcomeToTheJungle. And it’s wonderful to welcome Sanju Baba in this one. What do you think?”

Cast

The cast of Welcome To The Jungle includes Akshay Kumar, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Arshad Warsi, Suniel Shetty, Raveena Tandon, Paresh Rawal, Lara Dutta, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Johnny Lever, Rajpal Yadav, Kiku Sharda, Daler Mehndi, Mika Singh, and more.

In the announcement video, the cast was seen performing a cappella, giving a glimpse of the humor that lies in store for the audience. Helmed by director Ahmed Khan, the film is produced by Jyoti Deshpande and Firoz A. Nadiadwallah. It is set to hit theaters during the holiday season on December 20, 2024.