Welcome to the Jungle makers build massive forest sets in Mumbai for high-octane climax; shoot to wrap up early next year

Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty and Ahmed Khan

Mumbai is hardly the place one associates with jungles. But trust director Ahmed Khan to turn parts of the city into dense forests for Welcome to the Jungle. mid-day has learnt that on December 5, the director began shooting the climax that will play out across five venues - Film City, Royal Palms, Borivali, and two locations in Aarey Colony. The production team, led by Shailesh Mahadik, has built sets depicting wilderness.

(From left) Arshad Warsi, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Disha Patani also feature in the ensemble comedy

The original plan was to film the climax of the ensemble comedy - starring Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Arshad Warsi, Raveena Tandon, Jacqueline Fernandez, Disha Patani, Lara Dutta, Paresh Rawal, Tusshar Kapoor, and others - in the forests of Uttar Pradesh.

A source revealed, "But the biting cold was a deterrent. Plus, the production team realised it'd be logistically impractical to shoot in the forests with a 34-member cast and 500-strong unit. Given the kind of stunts involved, Ahmed and producer Firoz A Nadiadwala decided to relocate the shoot to Mumbai."

Raveena Tandon

After this leg is complete, the director will travel to North India to capture wide shots in the jungles. Khan told mid-day, "It's wonderful that we're shooting the climax now. Getting so many actors together was the only challenge, but once on sets, it's a party."

An introductory song featuring the entire cast will be filmed in the second week of January, after which it will be a wrap