What would be a filmmaker&rsquo;s biggest hurdle? The script? The shoot? Action? Humour? For Ahmed Khan, it was simply getting the calendars of the 30-plus actors to align. That challenge stretched <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/bollywood-news/article/welcome-to-the-jungle-box-office-akshay-kumar-film-earns-rs-15-crore-on-day-1-23637117" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Welcome to the Jungle</a> into a two-and-a-half-year shoot, making it one of the most ambitious ensemble comedies.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jun/Ahmed-Khan_e.jpg" alt="Ahmed Khan and Anees Bazmee" width="1280" height="720" /> Ahmed Khan and Anees Bazmee
&ldquo;It was an ambitious project from the word go. In India, ambition means getting the cast and their dates,&rdquo; Khan tells mid-day, on the eve of the film&rsquo;s release. &ldquo;Every actor was busy with other films and every character in this film is important. That&rsquo;s why it took us two-and-a-half years to complete.&rdquo; Having previously worked with much of the cast as a choreographer made communication easier. But Khan admits that being &ldquo;loud and dominating&rdquo; on set probably helped him keep everyone together.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jun/Baap_e.jpg" alt="A still from &lsquo;Baap&rsquo;" width="1280" height="720" /> A still from &lsquo;Baap&rsquo;
If assembling the cast was one challenge, stepping into a franchise originally helmed by <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/bollywood-news/article/akshay-kumar-vidya-balan-head-to-dehradun-after-mumbai-song-shoot-for-anees-bazmee-film-23634268" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Anees Bazmee</a> was another. Khan, however, says he never felt the need to seek the filmmaker&rsquo;s approval before taking over. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re all friends, but professionally every director can make any film. Anees bhai doesn&rsquo;t need me to explain how to make an action film and I don&rsquo;t need anyone to explain comedy to me. A director is a director. Give him a script and he&rsquo;ll make a film.&rdquo;
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/jun/Suniel-Akshay_e.jpg" alt="(L-R) Suniel Shetty and Akshay Kumar in &lsquo;Welcome to the Jungle&rsquo;" width="1280" height="720" /> (L-R) Suniel Shetty and Akshay Kumar in &lsquo;Welcome to the Jungle&rsquo;
He believes a change in the captainship gives a franchise a fresh identity, a &ldquo;new vision, and thought&rdquo;. &ldquo;Otherwise everyone would keep making the same thing over and over again. It&rsquo;s like shifting into a new house. You don&rsquo;t call the previous owner and ask where he kept the sofa. The house is the same, but you&rsquo;ll arrange the furniture your own way,&rdquo; explains Khan.
For the director, mounting a large-scale entertainer was also a way of giving back to the exhibition business. &ldquo;I can make a small action film and make it a hit, but it&rsquo;s our duty to give back to theatres.&rdquo;
<h2>When actors lend support</h2>
Ahmed Khan credits <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/bollywood-news/article/akshay-kumar-hints-at-reunion-with-anil-kapoor-and-nana-patekar-for-welcome-4-23637102" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Akshay Kumar </a>and Suniel Shetty for backing the film and easing the production&rsquo;s financial burden. &ldquo;What Akshay and Suniel did for this film is unbeatable. They simply said, &lsquo;Picture achhi banao. Picture kamayegi, we&rsquo;ll take from that.&rsquo; They didn&rsquo;t say, &lsquo;I&rsquo;ve rendered my services, now pay me&rsquo;.&rdquo;

‘Welcome to the Jungle’ director Ahmed Khan says Anees Bazmee doesn’t need his advice on action, just as he doesn’t need lessons in comedy

Ahmed Khan says actor schedules delayed Welcome to the Jungle by 2.5 years

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Director Ahmed Khan says the biggest challenge of Welcome to the Jungle was coordinating the schedules of its 30-plus actors, resulting in a two-and-a-half-year shoot. He also says he never sought Anees Bazmee's approval, believing every director brings their own vision

Ahmed Khan: ‘I don’t need anyone to explain comedy to me’

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Home / Entertainment / Bollywood News / Article / Ahmed Khan: ‘I don’t need anyone to explain comedy to me’