Ahmed Khan breaks silence on 'Welcome To The Jungle' comparisons with 'Tees Maar Khan' and 'Tropic Thunder'

Ahmed Khan may have delivered one of the biggest ensemble comedies of the year with 'Welcome To The Jungle', but the filmmaker says the film was never intended to recreate the magic of either 'Tees Maar Khan' or the Hollywood satire 'Tropic Thunder'.

Responding to comparisons surrounding the Akshay Kumar-led entertainer, Ahmed stressed that while the premise may seem familiar on paper, the storytelling and treatment are entirely different.

Ahmed Khan rejects 'Tees Maar Khan' similarities

Since 'Welcome To The Jungle' follows a group of aspiring actors who head into a jungle to shoot a film, many viewers drew parallels with Akshay Kumar's 2010 comedy 'Tees Maar Khan', which also revolved around a film shoot. However, Ahmed believes the resemblance ends there.Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter India, the director said, "Some people have looked at the 'film-within-a-film' concept and compared it to 'Tees Maar Khan' as well! But Akshay was the hero of 'Tees Maar Khan', he has the creative foresight to know if he is repeating himself."Explaining his approach further, Ahmed pointed out that a shared subject does not automatically make two films alike. "Every film arrives with its own distinct flavour.

Look at 'Dangal' and 'Sultan'; they released in the same year and both revolved around wrestling, yet they were completely different films. It entirely depends on the filmmaker's execution," he said.He added that his objective was to tell the story of ordinary people pretending to be heroes before unexpectedly finding themselves in a real-life crisis. "My vision was to create a movie about characters making a movie, who then get trapped in a real-world conflict and must find a way out, in the process becoming real-life heroes," he explained.

Why he doesn't agree with 'Tropic Thunder' comparisons

Apart from 'Tees Maar Khan', many also found similarities between 'Welcome To The Jungle' and Ben Stiller's Hollywood comedy 'Tropic Thunder', which follows actors shooting a war film who accidentally become caught in a real conflict. Ahmed, however, dismissed those comparisons too."We all live with a sense of nostalgia, and almost every film today draws inspiration from something that came before it. When I set out to make a war film, I asked myself, 'What direction should we take?' I decided we should lean entirely into fun," he shared.According to Ahmed, the film intentionally blends elements from several iconic Hollywood action films while adopting an adventurous tone inspired by the 'Jumanji' franchise. He cited movies such as 'Rambo', 'Saving Private Ryan', 'Black Hawk Down' and 'Tropic Thunder' as influences that collectively shaped the world of his film rather than serving as direct references."The idea here was essentially a Jumanji-esque approach: pull all those distinct worlds together into one cohesive narrative," he added.

A script that predates today's writing trends

Ahmed also revealed that the screenplay for 'Welcome To The Jungle' was originally penned by late writer Neeraj Vora years before his passing in 2017."Before Neeraj fell ill, he had completely written this film. He was a master of ensemble writing," Ahmed recalled, adding that producer Feroz Nadiadwala later refined the script while preserving Vora's original vision.The filmmaker further shared that

Farhad Samji

was brought on board to ensure the screenplay retained Neeraj's signature style.

"We approached Farhad Samji and told him he needed to completely get into the skin of Neeraj's writing style," he said.Interestingly, Ahmed believes the screenplay's age has worked in its favour. "Having a script from that era is actually its biggest strength. It stands in direct contrast to today's 'fast-food' writing mindset. It was structured properly, with patience and depth... written like real cinema," he noted.One of the film's biggest attractions is its cast of 34 actors, led by Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal. Ahmed admitted that working with the trio reminded him of their chemistry from 'Hera Pheri' and 'Phir Hera Pheri', but he ensured those beloved characters never spilled into this universe."I have great relations with Akshay, Suniel, and Paresh. I can't believe they're working in my film after 'Hera Pheri'.

They have the timing. If Akshay says something, then Paresh Rawal takes it from there, and then Suniel jumps in. There's an unknown attachment that Baburao, Shyam, and Raju somewhere pop up in them. I'm taking advantage of that banter," he had said during an earlier appearance on Screen Spotlight.At the same time, Ahmed emphasised that he constantly reminded the actors to stay true to their new characters. "I know that I don't have to interfere too much. They know what they have to do. All I have to do is to see there's not too much 'Hera Pheri' happening. I then tell them to snap out of it and come back to the zone of the film," he concluded.