Sunil Shetty revealed that he almost didn’t sign ‘Welcome to the Jungle’, and the reason was the film’s jaw-dropping cast. The veteran actor, who is now celebrating the film’s strong box office opening, talks candidly about his initial doubts, his take on ‘Tropic Thunder’ comparisons and what lies ahead with his upcoming action thriller Hitman Tiger Shroff.
Why Sunil Shetty was initially skeptical
While ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ turned out to be a crowd-pleaser, Sunil Shetty admits that the scale of the project was daunting at first. “Initially I was skeptical about doing it, because I wasn’t sure if I could do justice to so many actors,” he told Mid-Day, referring to the film’s 30-plus actor main cast. It was his confidence in the people behind the project that influenced the decision. He said, “I knew the script was over-the-top, but since I was comfortable with my producers Feroze A Nadiadwallah and Ahmed, I said yes.“
Sunil Shetty on ‘Tropic Thunder’ comparisons
‘Welcome to the Jungle’ has been widely compared to Ben Stiller’s 2008 Hollywood comedy ‘Tropic Thunder’, in which a film crew accidentally gets caught in a real-life war situation in the jungle. Shetty, however, is not losing sleep over the same. He said, “The comparisons will continue. What makes the difference is the writing, the acting, the director’s vision and our belief that an over-the-top, brain rot movie will work. We are not one to judge. Audiences enjoyed ‘Welcome to the Jungle’.”Ahmed KhanIts management is said to have crossed Rs 50 crore in its opening weekend. In the same conversation, the actor also made a case for the importance of entertaining, family-friendly films alongside big-budget action spectacles like ‘Dhurandhar’. He said, “I like Aditya Dhar’s movies. Entertainment is for me [a movie] which appeals to children and families. The way they are going to theaters for ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ speaks for itself.“
Sunil Shetty teases his role in ‘Hitman’
Wrapping up ‘Welcome to the Jungle’, Sunil Shetty is now focused on ‘Hitman’, an action thriller directed by Sachin Ravi in ​​which he plays a mentor to Tiger Shroff. Although rumors suggested that his role carried gray shades, the actor kept things close to his chest. He said, ‘I can’t say anything till the producer announces. Gray is always good, but black never is.”
More on ‘Welcome to the Jungle’
Directed by Ahmed Khan, the film also stars Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Arshad Warsi, Jackie Shroff, Paresh Rawal, Raveena Tandon, Lara Dutta, Farida Jalal, Johnny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Tushar Kapoorand Rajpal Yadav.The movie also stars Krishna Abhishek, Kiku Sharda, Daler Mehendi, Aftab Shivdasani, Mukesh Tiwari, Yashpal Sharma, Kiran Kumar, Zakir Hussain, Bindu Dara Singh, Urbashi Rautela, Hemant Pandey, Brijendra Kala and more.It releases in theaters on June 26, 2026.
