Base Industries Group, Cape Of Good Films, Seeta Films and Star Studio18’s Welcome To The Jungle (UA) is a comedy film. A rich businessman, Sinha (Zakir Hussain), wants to blow up money by producing a flop film. So he signs director-duo Dev (Rajpal Yadav) and Das (Paresh Rawal) to make a flop film in which he can lose a lot of money. Dev-Das sign flop hero Rajeev (Akshay Kumar), his ex-girlfriend, Nadira Daruwala (Disha Patani), and many other actors to work in the film which is designed to be a debacle at the box-office. During the making of the film about armymen, the actors, all of who play members of the Indian Army, encounter actual terrorists at Azadgaon where important scenes are to be shot. The terrorist group, headed by Zatara (Jackie Shroff), has held the people of Azadgaon captive. How the screen actors, aided by real armymen, defeat the terrorists and secure freedom for the inhabitants of Azadgaon forms the crux of the story.
Neeraj Vora’s story is implausible but since it is a comedy, the audience will not complain. For, besides being funny, it is also engaging. For an over-the-top comedy, Neeraj Vora’s screenplay is quite in order in the sense that the thread of continuity remains intact right through the drama. Also, the writer has taken care to see that the typical characteristics of each character are not diluted. Another plus point of the screenplay is that there are more than 30 characters, but it doesn’t look like any of them has been forced into the drama. Also, since all the characters are played by recognisable faces, they add face value while entertaining the viewers. References to earlier films or the characters some of the actors have played in past films are thoroughly enjoyable. The twist in the pre-climax, when the captive armymen are found, is nice and enjoyable. Even the climax, as over the top as the rest of the drama, is fulfilling. Of course, for those who want logic even in comedies, this drama will simply not work. Also, for viewers who don’t like nonsensical or farcical comedies, there’s absolutely nothing in the story or screenplay. Farhad Samji’s dialogues are extraordinary and deserve distinction marks because they complement the drama beautifully.
Before talking about the performances of the actors, a word about the casting. Casting director Girdhar Swami needs to be complimented for his brilliant casting. He deserves kudos for a job excellently done. Akshay Kumar shines as Rajeev and Babuji. He gets into the skin of both the characters and comes out a winner. His comedy is outstanding. In the role of Babuji, his dialogue delivery brings the house down with laughter. Sunil Shetty is very good as Yeda Anna. His habit of forgetting the key word everytime he wants to convey something is enjoyable. Jackie Shroff plays Zatara effectively. Raveena Tandon is excellent in the role of Zoya. Her dialogue delivery is very good. Disha Patani exudes oomph and acts well. Jacqueline Fernandez plays the dumb Jenny so naturally that it’s a delight to watch her perform. Arshad Warsi is very realistic as Romeo. Paresh Rawal lends fantastic support as film director Das. Rajpal Yadav is brilliant in the role of film director Dev. His comedy is fantastic. Farida Jalal is the scene-stealer. Her gibberish dialogues will have the audience laugh out loudly. Kiran Kumar excels in the role of Murad chacha. His track of speaking in high-flown Urdu is very well-thought of. Johny Lever evokes a lot of laughter as Dubey. His going silent in the midst of his dialogue delivery is a highlight. Shreyas Talpade makes his mark as cameraman Nainsukh. Tusshar Kapoor has his moments as actor Rajeev’s secretary, Benny, playing the character with all the conviction at his command. Lara Dutta stands her own as Teja. Krushna Abhishek makes his presence felt as Rambo. Kiku Sharda is cute and funny as Jumbo. Daler Mehndi springs a pleasant surprise as Daler. Aftab Shivdasani leaves his mark in a brief role as Abdullah. Mukesh Tiwari and Yashpal Sharma provide decent support as Rangwa and Jagwa respectively. Zakir Hussain is good as businessman Sinha. Vindoo Dara Singh plays Ghoni with aplomb. Brijendra Kala is adequate as the minister. Pankaj Dheer, Feroze Khan and Puneet Issar are entertaining as Karan, Arjun and Duryodhan respectively. The reference to their Mahabharat characters is hilarious. Sudesh Berry is impactful as Lt. Col. Vikrant Singh. Jeetu Verma is nice as Dominic. Vrihi Kodvara is impressive as Zoya’s little daughter, Urvi. Hemant Pandey is alright. Akshara makes her mark in the Ghis ghis song-dance. Others lend good support.
Ahmed Khan’s direction deserves distinction marks for more reasons than one: firstly, he has handled such a huge star cast with confidence and has extracted good work from out of all his actors; secondly, his narration keeps the audience entertained throughout; thirdly, because he is unapologetic about the over-the-top comedy, it becomes even more enjoyable. Music (Vikram Montrose, Talwinder, NDS, Anand Raaj Anand, Sajid-Wajid and Ankit Gupta) is good but there’s no super-hit song. Lyrics (Megha Bali, Talwinder, Abhinav Shekhar, Anand Raaj Anand and Shabbir Ahmed) are in sync with the mood of the film. Song picturisations (by Ganesh Acharya, Adil Shaikh, Prince Gupta and Rahul Shetty) are very nice. Hanif Shaikh’s background music is excellent and complements the proceedings beautifully. Kabir Lal’s cinematography is superb. Abbas Ali Moghul’s action and stunt scenes are enjoyable. Shailesh Mahadik’s production designing, and Bablu Singh’s art direction are of a good standard. Nitin Pathak’s editing is sharp.
On the whole, Welcome To The Jungle is an enjoyable entertainer and will do well at the ticket windows. It may not appeal to those who don’t like crazy and over-the-top comedies and films about the film industry, but it would find favour with those wanting to laugh out loud.
Released on 25-6-’26 at Inox (3 shows; in daily 9 shows from 26-6-’26) and other cinemas of Bombay thru JioStar India Pvt. Ltd. Publicity: good. Opening: fair. Opening today (Friday) was ordinary in the morning shows, but collections improved as the day progressed. …….Also released all over. Opening was ordinary yesterday, but it was fair at several places today and below the mark (considering the huge star cast) at others. Again, collections improved as the day progressed.
