Director Ahmed Khan recently revealed that Welcome To The Jungle was mounted on a grand scale, with nearly 900 people on set, 50 vanity vans, around 250 cars and an overall budget of Rs 110 crore. The big budget multi-starrer had Akshay Kumar, Jacqueline Fernandez, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Raveena Tandon among other prominent actors. It also starred Tusshar Kapoor who has now spoken about the scale of the production in an interview recently. He often found himself thinking about the enormous daily costs involved in making such a film.Tusshar admitted that agreeing to be part of a film featuring 34 actors was not an immediate decision. He recalled receiving the offer while he was in London around three years ago and said it took time before he was convinced.“I was in London when Welcome was offered to me. This was three years ago. Ahmed called me, and I was very excited. When we met, he told me who all were there in the film. I was a bit confused. Over the next few months, after hearing the story and my character, I concluded that I was safe in his hands. So it was a process, and not a green flag immediately. It took me a while to believe I was in good hands. Ahmed was the catalyst in me doing this film. When it is him, there is a lot of trust and blind faith. He was my first film’s choreographer,” he said in an interview with Screen. Looking back at the atmosphere during the shoot, Tusshar described the set as lively and full of camaraderie, comparing it to a bustling college canteen where everyone freely mingled with one another.“You cannot describe the chemistry on set. There were so many actors that it was like everyone was hanging out with everyone. Everyone was finding their comfort zone. It felt like how films were made in the older days, like Mughal-e-Azam or Rajkumar Koli films where there were multiple stars. It felt like a party happening. Ahmed wanted everybody to be happy. It felt like a college canteen.”As someone who understands filmmaking from both the creative and business sides, Tusshar said the scale of the production often left him calculating the expenses in his head. The endless row of vanity vans and the large workforce made him question whether such an investment was practical, even though he admired Ahmed Khan’s ambition.“When I would reach on set, it would take five minutes to reach our vanity van because we had to go through this huge line of vans. I used to just look at these vans and wonder what would be the daily cost for so many vans, and everyone’s staff. Is it really worth taking so many actors? I used to wonder that while Ahmed has a vision, he is bringing a new genre which was never attempted in India, but is it really justified having so many actors and doing so much kharcha? Ahmed was adamant that he needed everybody in every shot. There was a one-year gap in shooting Welcome. When the film resumed, he never thought to just shoot with actors available on set. He stuck to his guns and finished the film.”Tusshar also weighed in on the ongoing discussion around entourage expenses in the entertainment industry. While he acknowledged that certain comforts are necessary for actors to perform at their best, he stressed that there should be a sensible limit.“There has to be a balance. Some of that cost, even if it feels a little excessive, is required. You need your hairstylist, your makeup man. You need some perks. Going by the stress a leading actor or actress goes through, you need some comfort, space, and luxury to actually bring your best out. This is a visual medium, so to bring that beauty across, you need some kharcha and pampering. It’s fine. But there is a limit. It shouldn’t go beyond the basic requirement of vanity to a point where it becomes narcissism. It should not be done to satisfy your ego. That’s not good.”
