Ahmed Khan-directed ‘Welcome to The Jungle’ has a massive ensemble cast of over 30 actors, but several names originally attached to the project, including Sanjay Dutt, Sharib Hashmi, Rahul Dev and singer Mika Singh, were notably absent from the finished film. Breaking his silence on Sanjay’s exit, Khan has now rubbished claims of tension between the actor and the production team. He explained that the actor’s departure was down to a clash in his schedule, adding that Dutt had also flown to the US for medical treatment around that time. According to the director, the crew had already wrapped some scenes with Sanjay when he walked away from the film.
Sanjay Dutt loved the script, says Ahmed Khan
Ahmed revealed that Sanjay was really eager to be a part of the film, largely because several of his close friends from the industry were also starring in it. “Sanju Baba loved the script and really wanted to be a part of the film. Film mein itne saare friends the unke (A few of his friends were working in the film) – Jaggu Dada (Jackie Shroff), Akshay Kumar etc. He was excited. We shot a part of the film with him. But I had problems with dates. He had to go to the US. He went there for his treatment and I couldn’t change the dates of so many actors,” Khan told News18.
Sanjay Dutt helped find his replacement
According to Ahmed, once Sanjay walked away from the film, he personally stepped in to help find someone to fill his shoes. The director shared that Dutt himself contacted Suniel Shetty, persuaded him to play the role meant for him, and then convinced Jackie Shroff to take on the part originally written for Suniel. “He kindly called Suniel Shetty and told him to play the character he was supposed to play and asked Jackie Shroff to play the role that Suniel Shetty was originally supposed to play. He established a solution for its unavailability. We will always be thankful to Baba for this,” he added.
The film crosses the Rs 100 crore mark despite Sanjay Dutt’s exit
‘Welcome To The Jungle’ which has a key cast including Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Arshad WarsiJackie Shroff, Paresh Rawal, Raveena Tandon, Lara Dutta, Farida Jalal, Johny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoorand Rajpal Yadav, has already crossed the Rs 100 crore mark at the worldwide box office.