All posts tagged: Farhad Samji interview

‘Producer wanted more’: Why 35 actors were cast in Akshay Kumar’s Welcome To The Jungle | Bollywood News

‘Producer wanted more’: Why 35 actors were cast in Akshay Kumar’s Welcome To The Jungle | Bollywood News

Writer-director Farhad Samji has opened up about the ambitious scale of Welcome to the Jungle, saying the film’s story demanded a massive ensemble cast and that producer Firoz Nadiadwala wanted to make it even bigger. In a recent interview, Samji also spoke about the logistical challenge of coordinating 35 actors, praised Akshay Kumar’s positive attitude despite recent box office disappointments, shared his thoughts on the ongoing debate around inflated box office and budget figures. In an interview with Siddharth Kanan, Samji spoke about the film’s unusually large cast and said the script itself required a huge ensemble. “The film is about a group of actors who arrive in a village. Even today, Firoz bhai (producer) isn’t satisfied with just 34 actors. He would always say, ‘Bring in more people. Make it bigger. We need scale.’ And the scale comes from the faces you see on screen. He was so passionate. He kept saying, ‘The audience will enjoy it,’ and that’s exactly what happened. In every frame, you have seven actors standing here, eight actors there, …

Munna Bhai’s ‘M Bole Toh’ was written for Shah Rukh, says Farhad Samji: ‘English will suit SRK’ | Bollywood News

Munna Bhai’s ‘M Bole Toh’ was written for Shah Rukh, says Farhad Samji: ‘English will suit SRK’ | Bollywood News

4 min readMumbaiJul 9, 2026 04:53 PM IST Farhad Samji may now be known as a filmmaker, having directed films such as Housefull 4, Bachchhan Paandey, and Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, but he began his career as a lyricist, writing more than 100 songs. In a recent conversation with Siddharth Kannan, Samji recalled how he came up with the iconic ‘M Bole To’ track for Munna Bhai MBBS, a film that was initially being developed with Shah Rukh Khan in mind. Munna Bhai with Shah Rukh Khan Recalling how the opportunity came his way, Samji said, “A situation came up with Anu Malik for Munna Bhai. One night at around 10 p.m., Anu Malik called me and said, ‘Tomorrow Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Raju Hirani are coming for a sitting. Make a mukhda (opening refrain) for something, and we’ll jam together and play it for them.’ And that opportunity I could not miss.” He added, “At that time, I was told that Shah Rukh Khan was the hero. If you know, Munna Bhai …