Director
Anees Bazmee
, who is currently busy in the production of
Bhool Bhulaiyya 3
, recently opened up about the trials and tribulations he encountered during the making of his iconic 2007 film
Welcome
, starring
Nana Patekar
,
Anil Kapoor
, Paresh Rawal,
Akshay Kumar
and
Katrina Kaif
.
Recalling the initial response to Welcome, Bazmee shared an intriguing anecdote about the film’s trial show.
“When Welcome had its trial show, there were around 200 people, and they were all sitting blank. Nobody laughed,” he revealed. The feedback left both Bazmee and producer Firoz Nadiadwala concerned. However, Bazmee stood firm by his conviction, opting not to make any changes to the film despite the initial reactions. “We released it as it is, and the film went on to become such a big hit,” the filmmaker told Siddharth Kannan.
Will start shooting ‘No Entry’ when Salman Khan says: Director Anees Bazmee reacts
Addressing the challenges faced during the filming of Welcome, Bazmee recalled a particularly difficult moment, “During Welcome, I was shooting in a hospital and was quite unwell. Nana (Patekar) was with me in the hospital. A doctor took him aside and asked him to get me admitted. I shot for that scene but don’t remember shooting it. Even when I sat on the edit table, I couldn’t recollect it. It was the scene where Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar came to the hospital and learned that
Firoz Khan
’s son had been shot. And that became the best comedy scene of the film. I shot that scene with great difficulty; my nose was bleeding.”
Bazmee then expressed his fondness for Welcome and said that this film is very close to his heart. The film’s success and enduring popularity have led to the development of a successful franchise, with Welcome To The Jungle, the third installment, currently in the works. The star-studded cast includes Akshay Kumar, Arshad Warsi, Disha Patani, Raveena Tandon, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Lara Dutta Bhupathi, and more.
