‘Welcome to the Jungle’ made with 900-member team and complex planning

Staff Report: PNN

In Bollywood, making films with many stars is nothing new. However, ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ has taken this concept to another level. The film, made with 34 actors, required the daily presence of around 900 people on set, coordination of 50 vanity vans, and more than 200 vehicles. Despite such a massive arrangement, the production cost was kept within 115 crore rupees.

This information was recently shared by the film’s director Ahmed Khan in an interview with the Indian media outlet Amar Ujala.

He said that although 34 actors acted in the film, nearly 30 of them are well-known Bollywood stars. To manage such a large cast and complete the shooting according to plan, a special strategy was prepared before filming began. A large planning board containing photos and shooting schedules of every actor was created in the office to simplify daily coordination.

According to Ahmed Khan, the number of people in front of the camera was far less than those working behind it. Since every star had a personal assistant, makeup artist, and hairstylist, around 150 people were present daily just for the actors. In addition, with the main unit, action team, stunt performers, horse riders, background artists, and dancers, around 900 people were sometimes present on set.

To manage such a large unit, special arrangements had to be made at shooting locations. The director said that one single field was not enough, so two large fields were rented side by side. Space was required for 50 vanity vans, along with separate cabins, makeup zones, and other infrastructure.

Not only set management, but daily transportation was also a major challenge. Around 200 to 250 vehicles were used daily for actors, crew members, and technical teams. Ahmed Khan said managing such a large shoot felt like completing a massive event every day, and sometimes production management became more difficult than filmmaking itself.

He further said that although there was a fear of conflicts or ego clashes among so many stars, everyone worked professionally. Despite extreme heat, busy schedules, and long shooting hours, cooperation among artists helped complete the shoot on time.

Released in India on Friday (26 June), ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ features Akshay Kumar along with Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Raveena Tandon, Jacqueline Fernandez, Disha Patani, Arshad Warsi, Johnny Lever, Jackie Shroff, Lara Dutta, and many other popular Bollywood stars. Due to its massive cast and large-scale production, the film had already become a center of audience attention before release.