‘Welcome to the Jungle’ may have crossed the Rs 186 crore worldwide mark, but the film’s reception has courted criticism for a sluggish, overcrowded second half that draws obvious parallels to Ben Stiller’s ‘Tropic Thunder’. In an interview recently, the film’s writer Farhad Samji addressed all of it: from finishing what late screenwriter Neeraj Vohra started, to how Akshay Kumar responded to playing a hero whose films keep flopping on screen.
Farhad Samji on carrying forward Neeraj Vohra’s vision
In a conversation with SCREEN, Samji explained that the film’s original screenplay came from Neeraj Vohra, who passed away in 2017, after which Samji stepped in to handle dialogues and characterisation.Farhad opened up, “Neeraj Vohra gave some of the biggest hits of his time. As a writer, I connected with him during Bol Bachchan. He was acting in that film, and as writers, we would keep sharing ideas. This idea about Welcome To The Jungle was told to me by Firoz sir; they wanted me to write the dialogues. After Golmaals and Housefulls, dialogues have become very important. It took time, but everything fell into place. For three and a half years, we were shooting, narrating, and working on the film; it was not an easy process.”The writer added, “There were no changes I had to make. I specialize in characterization — Kiran Kumar’s dialogue delivery, Farida Jalal’s character, and Johnny Lever going mute while talking; all these I incorporated. There was pressure as the film stars 34 actors; you have a relationship with all of them. I have done 13 films with Akshay, with Johnny Lever, and Arshad. I have collaborated on 18-19 films. What worked for me was transparency.”
How Akshay Kumar reacted to playing a “flop actor”
One of the film’s more talked-about threads sees Akshay Kumar playing a Bhojpuri actor whose last 14 films have all tanked which was a plot point that many viewers connected to Kumar’s own recent run at the box office. According to Samji, the actor wasn’t fazed by the parallel at all.Farhad revealed, “I had gone to London to narrate Welcome’s first draft to Akshay, where he was shooting for Khel Khel Mein. I was also curious to know how he would react to the flop actor sequence, as he plays a flop actor whose 14 films have tanked. He jumped at it and said that was the best line of the whole sequence. He knew the situation in the film demanded that; it was not a joke on him.”Farhan added, “Having a take on the black money sequence or vanity van discussion was not our first criterion; it was Neeraj Vohra’s screenplay that we were working on and adding laughter to it. In Welcome to the Jungle, we knew this world had producers, vanity vans, etc. Firoz Nadiadwala, me, and Ahmed Khan have been around for 25 years; these discussions happen, fights over vanity vans happen, so why not put it? But the idea was not to put a scene because we wanted to have a take on it; these sequences were like adding masala to the story. We wrote 20-25 drafts, sat multiple times before sequences, and made changes before every schedule as per the actors. We thought of the many ifs, buts, and other options.”
Addressing the ‘Tropic Thunder’ comparisons and a crowded second half
On the criticism around the film’s packed frames and its resemblance to ‘Tropic Thunder’, Samji pointed to creative tension on set, “Firoz still thinks the frame is empty. Ahmed and I were trying to explain to him that it was enough. He wanted to add more characters; he wanted actors from other states, too. We also had to be logical, so we had to have quantity in the scenes. I had not seen Tropic Thunder until I was told about the screenplay, and I worked on what was given to me. When I worked on the characters, even the second half of the story is different from Tropic Thunder. But what happens is, we play within some aspects, so similarities would be there, but we have tried to add freshness.”Samji also spoke about the broader pressure writers face today stating, “Today, as a creative, there is a filter in the mind. While the first draft would have open thoughts, while revising it, some things have to be kept in mind. At times, even when we don’t have any such intention, somewhere, people get offended. So we have to keep a filter, but this kind of comedy was a no-brainer, and people didn’t scrutinize it. If someone is sitting to pick flaws its a different thing, but I don’t think the audience would do this. If I keep thinking about this, I won’t be able to write.”
What’s next for Farhad Samji?
Samji revealed he’s currently developing three to four new scripts and is expected to announce his next directorial venture soon.
More about ‘Welcome to the Jungle’
Directed by Ahmed Khan, ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ is a star-studded action-comedy led by Akshay Kumar, alongside Suniel Shetty, Arshad Warsi, Paresh Rawal, Disha Patani and Jacqueline Fernandez, with a supporting ensemble of 34 actors in total. The story follows a corrupt tycoon who tries to launder black money by deliberately bankrolling a big-budget film designed to flop, only for its unsuspecting director and a fading superstar to get swept up in a real-life terrorist standoff in the fictional village of Azad Nagar.
