Akshay Kumar Calls Anil Kapoor Nana Patekar Family Says Doors Open For Welcome 4 Return
Indian Express
The absence of Anil Kapoor s Uday Shetty and Nana Patekar s Majnu Bhai from Welcome To The Jungle, which hit theares today, has been one of the biggest talking points surrounding the film.
The absence of Anil Kapoor’s Uday Shetty and Nana Patekar’s Majnu Bhai from Welcome To The Jungle, which hit theares today, has been one of the biggest talking points surrounding the film. Addressing the issue, Akshay Kumar shared in a recent interview with the media that the franchise has always been like a family and insisted that the door remains open for their return.
“Welcome is a full family. This is Nana, Mr. Anil, me, and all the people. This is like family. If Welcome 4 is ever made, you will find all of them (in it),” shared the actor.
Choreographer-turned-director Ahmed Khan also addressed the absence of Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor in the third instalment of Welcome, saying he remained in touch with both actors throughout the film’s production. According to Ahmed, the duo often checked in on the shoot.
“We talked all the time. We used to call during the shoot. Nana had just called and asked, ‘How is it going? When will you show the film to me? Tell Akshay that I am not available.’ They keep calling and they talk. Anil sir called and said, ‘How is it going? Next time we will plan something,'” he shared.
Although Uday Shetty and Majnu Bhai are missing from Welcome To The Jungle, the film introduces their brothers—Yeda Anna and Romeo, portrayed by Suniel Shetty and Arshad Warsi, respectively.
Explaining the decision, Ahmed Khan said, “Uday Shetty’s brother is Yeda Anna and Majnu’s brother is Romeo. They share the same bloodline. One thing that they have in common is the dream to become actors. You will like Yeda Anna and Romeo as much. So, we have made it bigger. We made it younger and we have given it a different quest. Of course, you can’t take away from them what they (Uday Shetty and Majnu Bhai) have done.”
Welcome To The Jungle takes the franchise in a new direction with an ensemble cast and fresh characters. Along with Akshay Kumar, there are 32 stars in the film including Suniel Shetty, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Arshad Warsi, Jackie Shroff, Paresh Rawal, Raveena Tandon, Lara Dutta, Farida Jalal, Johnny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor, Rajpal Yadav, Krushna Abhishek, and Kiku Sharda.