‘Without sugar coating things, I could tell Akshay (Kumar) and Rajpal (Yadav) aisa mat kar (don’t do that), remind Anna (Suniel Shetty) that it was a just a ‘back’ shot and point out to Paresh (Rawal) bhai that since he was not in focus, so he didn’t have to give too many expressions.’
Ahmed Khan, the director of Baaghi 2, Baaghi 3 and Heropanti 2, is taking forward another franchise.
Welcome To The Jungle is an action-comedy featuring 32 actors in almost every scene, and the director admits it was a huge responsibility and took a toll.
Speaking to Rediff Senior Contributor Roshmila Bhattacharya in a two-part interview, the choreographer-turned-director says, “My wife Shaira has been telling me, and Akshay Kumar too that the last two-and-a-half years have aged me a lot and she doesn’t want an old husband.”
Key Points
- ‘So many actors in one frame, in every frame, it was like making three films instead of one.’
- ‘A huge responsibility which took a toll on my health. Mentally too, I was all over the place.’
- ‘No one doubted my ability to frame a shot because as a choreographer, I was used to assembling 200 dancers in a frame. So assembling 32 actors was not that daunting.’
‘No director has faced what I have’
You are bringing back the Welcome franchise after 11 years. How big a responsibility is that at a time when the Hindi film industry is looking for another blockbuster like Dhurandhar: The Revenge?
Every film is a responsibility irrespective of whether it’s a franchise or not. The first Welcome released in 2007, followed by the sequel in 2015.
Both films were huge hits.
But the fact that Welcome To The Jungle didn’t happen immediately after Welcome Back and it came to me after all these years, perhaps means that it was written in my destiny.
I work hard on every project without focusing on what it is and what it can become.
A big budget, star-studded action-comedy, how much of a challenge was it for you as a director?
No director has faced what I have. So many actors in one frame, in every frame, it was like making three films instead of one.
A huge responsibility which took a toll on my health. Mentally too, I was all over the place.
What kept me going was my body of work and my relationship with the actors because of which I didn’t need any filters.
Without sugar coating things, I could tell Akshay (Kumar) and Rajpal (Yadav) aisa mat kar (don’t do that), remind Anna (Suniel Shetty) that it was a just a ‘back’ shot and point out to Paresh (Rawal) bhai that since he was not in focus, so he didn’t have to give too many expressions.
Also, no one doubted my ability to frame a shot because as a choreographer, I was used to assembling 200 dancers in a frame. So assembling 32 actors was not that daunting.
With so many stars around, what was the atmosphere like on the set?
(Grinning) I spoke the least because I didn’t want to lose my head and spoil the atmosphere.
It’s a funny film and I wanted my actors to enjoy themselves.
It did get a little exasperating sometimes when Arshad (Warsi) kept leaving his mark and wandering off to speak to Rajpal and Pareshbhai or do masti with Jacqueline (Fernandez) and Raveena (Tandon).
But I quickly realised woh mahaul bana raha hai, making it like a reunion of college friends, bringing back memories and building camaraderie.
It worked because soon these actors forgot that they were parents with grown-up kids and, going back 20 years, started behaving like college buddies, addressing each other as ‘tu‘.
I was their friend too, who had made them all dance in college, in films, and now, when they were no longer young.
(Laughs) I handled them like a good ringmaster.
‘Suddenly, there was a shocked screech from Rajpal as the horse started eating his wig’
What pranks did Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty play on their unsuspecting co-stars?
Rajpal has an Afro wig in the film which he would wear all the time on set.
One day, Akshay took his horse close to where Rajpal was standing and stuck some hay in his wig. (Guffaws) Suddenly, there was a shocked screech from Rajpal as the horse started eating his wig.
Suniel would call the young assistant directors over to check his neck mic and suddenly startle them by making a loud sound and scaring them away.
But it wasn’t all fun and games, you also had to deal with two wars…
Yeah, they did disturb us, but they were also a blessing in disguise.
When shooting stalled, I used the time to work on the script and figure out how we could spin things around.
Welcome to the Jungle is a big film in every way…
(Cuts in) Oh yes, we have 32 actors, and if you count an entourage of even five for each, there were 160 people, along with a unit of 200, on the set every day.
Also, 100 fighters, horsemen, dancers and 200 junior artistes.
We were handling almost 900 to 1,000 people every day.
You also built a set of a jungle over nine acres in Mumbai’s Film City Studio.
Actually, the set was built over six acres, the remaining three acres was for 54 vanity vans, five-six generators, A/C ducts and hold-up areas for the junior artists.
And this was just Stage 2. Stage 3 was to park the 200 cars which ferried people and equipment daily.
There was also a huge, covered, air-conditioned tent for the horses.
The set was too big for us to walk around, so we hired 10 buggies, the kind you see in airports, to take us around.
The BTS (behind-the-scenes) could make for a separate film in itself.
(Smiles) If Welcome To The Jungle works, we might just make it too.
‘You can fight people, but you can’t fight a pandemic’
While on the subject of franchises, after the super success of Baaghi 2, Baaghi 3 was expected to hit a double century at the box office, but it got hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. That must have been a crushing disappointment.
We were expecting it to do a business of at least Rs 250 crore to Rs 300 crore (Rs 2.5 billion to Rs 3 billion). It collected Rs 95 crore (Rs 950 million) in the first six days.
At a time when people were maintaining a distance of six feet and not going to the theatres because of the pandemic, Baaghi 3 got the highest opening for a Hindi film in 2020.
You can fight people, but you can’t fight a pandemic. So we just surrendered to God’s will.
After that Baaghi 4 bhi bani, but by then I had moved to Welcome To The Jungle.
Is Baaghi 5 happening?
Sajid (Nadiadwala, producer) and I have been planning, dekhte hain.
Will you direct it?
That will depend on the script and my mind set at the time.
I have just finished a film with a big star cast and my wife Shaira has been telling me, and Akshay too, that the last two-and-a-half years have aged me a lot and she doesn’t want an old husband.
So now, I think I will focus on my son Azaan’s launch.
It’s a young film and will bring new excitement in the house.
‘Azaan is very good in action, and being my son, he is a good dancer too’
Will it be an action film?
Yes. Azaan is very good in action, and being my son, he is a good dancer too. He has an excellent command over the language as well, a mix of Hindi and Urdu. He speaks proper Hindustani which I feel is missing in actors today.
And he knows how to use his voice.
Uska ghar mein he gurukul tha, since childhood he’s grown up in a home that was like a film school, amongst writers, producers, actors, directors and cinema at large.
Was Azaan always interested in films?
Initially, he wanted to be a footballer and represent the country. But then, he realised that here, you can’t make a career in football.
So, at the age of 12, I told him he had to make a choice.
Baap ne bahut mehnat karke jaagir banaya hai (your father has worked very hard to build a legacy) and if he was okay with working hard, I was okay with him doing films.
He is 25 today and ready for his action drama, his debut film should roll in September-October.
‘Subhaan looks like the quintessential ’90s model’
What about your younger son, Subhaan?
Subhaan is 19 and wants to become an actor. He looks like the quintessential ’90s model, like Milind Soman, who has really broad shoulders. Like Deepak Malhotra, Marc Robinson and Arjun Rampal from their early days.
Subhaan is only 19, with a sweet face.
He is also six feet three inches with a retro body structure and can become a breakthrough actor after 30 years.
So you have two superstars at home?
Inshaallah, with Shaira’s looks (his wife was a top model) and my talent, donon chal jaye bas (may both of them succeed).
Amruta Fadnavis, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s wife, has sung a song for Welcome To The Jungle. How did Deewane Hain, her romantic duet with Anand Raaj Anand, come about?
She’s a very dear friend and I had shot the music video of Phir Se for T-Series, featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Amruta. We have known each other for 10 years and when I told her I wanted her to sing for Welcome To The Jungle, she was ready.
It’s a beautiful song and she’s so good.
This web site may embed third-party content from YouTube/Instagram/social media for news and informational purposes under fair use provisions for reporting. All rights remain with the original creators. We do not host or own such content. Any concerns may be reported to us for review and removal in good faith.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
