Ahmed Khan breaks silence on Sanjay Dutt's last-minute exit from Welcome to the Jungle: ‘Shot a part of film with him’

AHmed Khan's directorial receive to the Jungle was making headlines long before its resign because of its monolithic supporting players mold. The film features 34 actors, with Akshay Kumar leading the star-studded lineup. Recently, Ahmed Khan revealed that although Sanjay Dutt was originally a part of the film and had even shot a portion of it, the actor had to exit at the last minute.Ahmed on Sanjay's exit from Welcome To The JungleSpeaking to News18, Ahmed said, "Sanju Baba loved the script, and he really wanted to be a part of the film. Film mein itne saare friends the unke (Quite a few of his friends were working on the film) – Jaggu Dada (Jackie Shroff), Akshay Kumar, etc. He was thrilled. We shot a part of the film with him. But he had date issues. He had to go to the US. He went there for his treatment, and I couldn't shift the dates of so many actors."Sanjay Dutt suggested Suniel Shetty, Jackie ShroffSanjay didn't just exit the project — he also helped the makers recast his role. He suggested Suniel Shetty and Jackie Shroff for the film to ensure the shoot continued smoothly. Sharing the same, Ahmed said, "He graciously called Suniel Shetty and told him to play the character that he was supposed to play and requested Jackie Shroff to play the role that Suniel Shetty was initially set to play. He set up a solution to his unavailability. We'll always remain grateful to baba for that."Welcome to the Jungle box officeWelcome to the Jungle is performing decently at the box office. The film has collected ₹85.67 crore in total India gross collections and ₹72.25 crore in total India net collections so far.Welcome to the Jungle revolves around a group of gangsters, criminals and quirky characters whose paths cross in a jungle near the border. What begins as an operation resembling a film shoot soon turns into a series of absurd misadventures.The film stars Suniel Shetty, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Arshad Warsi, Jackie Shroff, Paresh Rawal, Raveena Tandon, Lara Dutta, Farida Jalal, Johny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor, Rajpal Yadav, Krushna Abhishek, Kiku Sharda, Daler Mehndi, Aftab Shivdasani, Mukesh Tiwari, Yashpal Sharma, Kiran Kumar, Zakir Hussain, Vindu Dara Singh, Urvashi Rautela, Hemant Pandey, Brijendra Kala, Feroze Khan (Arjun), late Pankaj Dheer, Puneet Issar, Sudesh Berry, Jeetu Verma, Vrihi Kodvara, Adityaa Singgh, and Bhagya Bhanushali.Ahmed Khan on the film's budgetRecently, while speaking to Times Now, Ahmed opened up about the film's budget. He said, “Welcome to the Jungle, with cast, action, songs, everything, I haven’t crossed more than ₹115 crore to ₹120 crore, or maybe ₹125 crore. You count the interest money also. I haven’t crossed the budget. And that has been recovered from digital, satellite, music and overseas (rights). The film is even. Now, whatever the film is making, it’s the surplus. They’re completely benefiting from it."