“Welcome to the Jungle” may have crossed the Rs 186 crore mark worldwide, but the film’s reception has been criticized for a slow and crowded second half that draws obvious parallels with Ben Stiller’s “Tropic Thunder”. In a recent interview, the writer of the film Farhad Samji covered everything from finishing what the late screenwriter Neeraj Vohra started, to how Akshay Kumar he answered playing a hero whose films continue to grace the screen.
Farhad Samji to carry forward Neeraj Vohra’s vision
In a conversation with SCREEN, Samji explained that the original script of the film came from Neeraj Vohra, who passed away in 2017, after which Samji stepped in to handle the dialogues and characterization.Farhad opened, “Neeraj Vohra gave some of the biggest hits of his time. As a writer, I connected with him during the Bol Bachchan. He was acting in that movie and as writers we would continue to share ideas. This idea about Welcome To The Jungle was explained to me by Mr. Firoz; they wanted me to write the dialogues. After Golmaals and Housefulls, dialogues have become very important. It took time, but everything fell into place. For three and a half years we were shooting, narrating and working on the film; It wasn’t an easy process.”The writer added, “There was no change I had to make. I specialize in characterization – Kiran Kumar’s dialogue delivery, Farida Jalal’s character and Johnny Lever’s character going mute while speaking – all these I brought in. There was pressure as the film stars 34 actors; you have a rapport with all of them. I have done 13 films with Akshay, and I have collaborated with Arshad Lever. films. What worked for me was be transparency“
How Akshay Kumar reacted to playing a ‘flop actor’
One of the most talked about threads of the film sees Akshay Kumar playing a Bhojpuri actor whose last 14 films have flopped, which was a plot point that many viewers connected with Kumar’s recent run at the box office. According to Samji, the actor was not at all fazed by the parallelism.Farhad revealed, “I had gone to London to narrate the first draft of Welcome to Akshay, where I was shooting for Khel Khel Mein. I was also curious to know how he would react to the failed actor sequence as he plays a failed actor whose 14 films have flopped. He jumped on it and said it was the best line of the entire sequence. I knew the situation in the film demanded it; it wasn’t a joke with him.”Farhan added, “Having an opinion on the black money sequence or the van discussion was not our first criterion; it was Neeraj Vohra’s script that we were working on and adding laughs to it. In Welcome to the Jungle, we knew that this world had producers, vans, etc. Firoz Nadiadwala, myself and Ahmed Khan have been there; But the idea was not to put a scene because we wanted to have a vision, these sequences they were like adding masala to the story. We wrote 20-25 drafts, sat down several times before sequences and made changes before each show depending on the actors. We thought about the many ifs, buts and other options.”
Addressing ‘Tropic Thunder’ comparisons and a crowded second half
On the criticism surrounding the film’s full frames and its similarity to ‘Tropic Thunder’, Samji pointed out the creative tension on the set: “Firoz still thinks the frame is empty. Ahmed and I were trying to explain to him that enough is enough. He wanted to add more characters; he also wanted actors from other states. We also had to be logical, so we had to have quantity in the scenes. I hadn’t seen Tropic Thunder until I was told about the script and I worked on what I was given. When I worked on the characters, even the second half of the story is different from Tropic Thunder. But the thing is, we play in some aspects, so there would be similarities, but we tried to add freshness.”Samji also spoke about the wider pressure that writers face today stating, “Today, as a creative, there is a filter on the mind. Although the first draft would have open thoughts, while revising, some things should be kept in mind. Sometimes, even when we have no such intention, somewhere, people get offended. So we have to keep a filter, but that kind of comedy was a no-brainer and people didn’t scrutinize it. If someone is sitting around picking up flaws, that’s a different matter, but I don’t think the public will. If I keep thinking about this, I won’t be able to write.”
What’s next for Farhad Samji?
Samji revealed that he is currently developing three to four new scripts and is expected to announce his next directorial venture soon.
More about “Welcome to the Jungle”
Directed by Ahmed Khan, ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ is a star-studded action comedy directed by Akshay Kumar, along with Suniel Shetty, Arshad Warsi, Paresh Rawal, Disha Patani and Jacqueline Fernandez, with a supporting ensemble of 34 actors in total. The story follows a corrupt tycoon who tries to launder black money by deliberately financing a big-budget film designed to fail, only for its unsuspecting director and a fading superstar to be drawn into a real-life terrorist clash in the fictional village of Azad Nagar.