Welcome to the Jungle may have brought together one of the biggest ensemble casts in Bollywood, but it has also sparked a debate over how much space its female actors were given in the film. Many viewers questioned why Disha Patani and Jacqueline Fernandez had limited dialogues and screen time. Now, filmmaker Ahmed Khan has responded to the criticism, saying the casting and character arcs were designed to fit the film’s comedy-driven format.
Ahmed Khan explains why the female cast had fewer dialogues
Addressing the criticism to Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview, Ahmed Khan said the film was always built around some of Bollywood’s biggest comedy stars, making it difficult to give everyone equal space. “When you have such solid actors like Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever, Rajpal Yadav, Shreyas, Aftab, Arshad, Akshay; you know they are kings of comedy, inke beech mein ladkiyon ka dialogue daal ke kya hoga. (When you have such strong comedy performers like Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever, Rajpal Yadav, Shreyas, Aftab, Arshad and Akshay—they’re all kings of comedy. Among them, even if you give the women more dialogues, it doesn’t really make a difference),” he said.
He added that everyone involved understood what kind of film they were making and what each role demanded. “So jab yeh bhi understood tha ke ‘we are here to be at this part’ and what does theheroine require? Heroine requires good scenes to be a part of, (So it was already understood that we were here to play this particular part. And what does a heroine need? A heroine needs good scenes to be a part of),” he explained.
Jacqueline Fernandez plays a comic character
Talking about Jacqueline Fernandez’s role, Ahmed Khan said her character was intentionally written as a bimbo who creates funny moments with her unusual questions. “She comes up with stupid questions every time. She comes up with such questions that people are really shocked in between ki kya pooch rahi hai? (What on earth is she asking?),” he said.
According to him, even without lengthy dialogues, her character contributes to the film’s humour in a different way.
About Disha Patani’s character
Ahmed Khan also spoke about Disha Patani’s role, who plays Akshay Kumar’s ex-girlfriend’s character and constantly gets under his skin throughout the story. “Disha, throughout the film, is just insulting Akshay Kumar,” he said.
He further explained, “She is his ex, so she’s constantly trying to make him jealous. She’s always saying things like, ‘Go on then, Badshah… the biggest player, just get lost.’ That was her role throughout the film—to keep telling him, ‘Go away, leave from here.’ But at the same time, she still calls him a cheater, so her character also carries that emotional baggage.”
Managing a cast of 34 actors wasn’t easy
Ahmed said one of the biggest challenges was balancing such a massive cast. According to him, it was simply impossible to give every actor equal screen time. “Inn sab ke beech mein dekho we have so many actors you know 34 actors, 34 actors ka if you count char-char minute bhi gino toh poori picture ban jaati hai (We have so many actors—34 in total. If you were to give each of them even four minutes on screen, that alone would make up the entire film),” he said.
Despite the conversations about the female characters, he believes the actors themselves were satisfied with what they were given to do. “I think I think that’s fair, and the girls are also happy,” he stated.
Lara Dutta and Raveena Tandon leave an impact
Ahmed Khan also praised Lara Dutta and Raveena Tandon for making a strong impression despite not being on screen throughout the film. “Lara comes in and immediately starts whipping the men around. She appears for just 20 minutes, and she’s done a good job,” he said while speaking about Lara’s performance.
He also highlighted Raveena’s character, saying, “When Raveena comes in, she is the only woman holding the entire village together and standing up against the villain, Jatara. So people have seen her role as well.”
Songs also gave the actresses their moments
Apart from their roles in the story, Ahmed Khan pointed out that both Disha Patani and Jacqueline Fernandez featured prominently in the film’s songs. “And then they also got their songs to perform. Amidst all this, you have to remember that we have so many actors,” he said.
He also singled out the Kaanta Laga remix, adding, “I like that bit that Kaanta Laga and the girls do that Kaanta Laga remix and they mix together.”
Ahmed Khan ended by standing by his creative choices, saying the film gave every actor the space their role required. With a cast as large as Welcome to the Jungle, he believes the female actors got exactly what the story demanded.
Welcome To The Jungle is continuing its run in theatres and is currently being screened in 8,697 shows across the country. According to Sacnilk, the film has earned ₹91.09 crore in India net collections so far, while its domestic gross collection has reached ₹108.48 crore.
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