Anees Bazmee REACTS to Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor not being cast in Welcome To The Jungle: “If I was directing this film…”

Filmmaker Anees Bazmee, who directed the first two films in the Welcome franchise, has said that he would not have been able to make Welcome To The Jungle without Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor.

For the unversed, Patekar and Kapoor were both part of the first two films, but they will not be appearing in the third instalment. Bazmee said that he was not involved in the casting of the new film, but he believes that Patekar and Kapoor are essential to the Welcome series.

Bazmee asserted, “I would just like to say that if I was directing this film, it would not have been possible for me to make this film without Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor. Both the characters have been iconic. Even today, some videos related to him are seen on social media. Both of them have been important characters. I can’t imagine this film without them.”

The filmmaker’s comments come after Patekar reacted to his absence from the film. During the trailer launch event of The Vaccine War, a reporter went on to ask the reason behind his absence when Nana responded by saying, “Unko lagta hai hum purane ho gaye hain. Isiliye shayad unhone nahi liya. Inko (The Vaccine War makers) lagta hai abhi hum purane nahi hue hain, isiliye inhone le liya. Simple hai (They feel we are old. Maybe that’s why they didn’t consider us for the film. It’s simple actually).”

Also Read: Nana Patekar opens up about not doing Welcome To The Jungle; says, “Unko lagta hai hum purane ho gaye”