Fans of the superhit comedy franchise, Welcome, are eagerly waiting for the third instalment titled Welcome To The Jungle but are left disappointed with the news that Nana Patekar aka Uday Shetty and Anil Kapoor aka Majnu Bhai will not reprise their characters in the upcoming comedy-drama.
In an exclusive interview with The Lallantop, Nana Patekar opened up on his decision to step away from the upcoming instalment in the franchise. The veteran actor candidly shared, “They did approach us. We said no. Kahani nahi hai. Utna maza nahi aaya (There’s no story. We didn’t enjoy it as much).”
Patekar also reflected on his initial hesitation in portraying the character of Uday Shetty in the franchise and shared his deep connection with co-actor Anil Kapoor, who plays his brother. He revealed that director Anees Bazmee convinced him to play the part. “But it wouldn’t have been complete if Anil and I weren’t doing it together. If Anil and I are there, then only Welcome is possible. If you remove me, then he alone can’t make Welcome and vice-versa,” he emphasized.
Nana Patekar further mentioned that the underwhelming response to the second instalment in the franchise, Welcome Back, also influenced his decision to step away from the upcoming movie. The first movie was released in 2007 and turned out to be a cult classic, however, the second instalment released in 2015 failed to live up to the hype and underperformed at the box office.
While Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor will be absent from the next instalment in the Welcome franchise, Akshay Kumar will return to the franchise after being missed in Welcome Back. The comedy-drama also stars an ensemble cast of 30 actors, including Arshad Warsi, Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever, Rajpal Yadav, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Krushna Abhishek, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Raveena Tandon, and Lara Dutta, and touted to be comedy mayhem.
Helmed by Ahmed Khan, Welcome To The Jungle is slated for a theatrical release on 20 December 2025.
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