Exclusive: Case against Firoz Nadiadwala to be retracted, shoot for Welcome to the Jungle to start from Dec 11
Welcome to the Jungle stars Akshay Kumar, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez and Sanjay Dutt as lead characters
Akshay Kumar’s Welcome to the Jungle landed in controversy after filmmaker Anees Bazmee came out to share that the movie’s producer Firoz Nadiadwala hasn’t paid his dues worth ₹2 crores. The movie’s shoot as a result was stalled. However, we have now learnt that it’s starting soon.
BN Tiwari, President of FWICE shares with us, “The shoot for Welcome to the Jungle will begin from December 11 and the preparations are in full swing. A set has been put in Goregaon East after the makers got clearance from the cinema association. The cinema association got involved after the cheque given to the Bhool Bhulaiyya filmmaker got bounced and he reached out to the association for support. However, Nadiadwala has now agreed to give the remaining amount to Bazmee, through FWICE.”
Tiwari, further confirmed that they had a meeting with Nadiadwala. “He will be clearing the dues through three cheques. The cheques will be made in the name of the association and we will pass it on to Bazmee, who right now is in LA. As for now, we have forwarded the agreement draft to him.” he tells us, adding that the case filed against the producer will also be taken back. “There was a case running against Firoz Nadiadwala under section 138. But we have informed him that it will also be retracted.”
Another insider further shares that the film’s first schedule will be shot in Mumbai. “They have a plan to stay here for a few days, for the first schedule of the film, where all the actors will join in to shoot some of the crucial scenes. Earlier, the film’s shoot was supposed to begin in Gujarat, but there have been change in plans. The rest of the locations for the shoot aren’t disclosed yet,” the source says.
We also contacted Nadiadwala and Bazmee, but didn’t receive any response till the time of going to press.
In an earlier interview with us, Bazmee had shared that several meetings were held in the last few years, after the release of Welcome Back. But the issue could not get resolved. “Meetings toh hoti rehti thi, but aaj tak paise nahi mile hain. They wanted me to do Welcome 3. I asked them what about my previous payment, and I was told, ‘Aap picture karo, hum aapki nayi, puraani, sab payment clear kar denge’. But despite all the negotiations, nothing positive has come out,” Bazmee had told us in the interview given in September
