Bollywood comedy 'Welcome To The Jungle' to be shot in Dubai atop a luxury yacht?

Dubai: Parts of the upcoming Bollywood ensemble comedy Welcome to the Jungle will be filmed in Dubai soon, Gulf News can exclusively reveal.

According to a statement from production team led by Firoz A Nadiadwala, a key sequence featuring actors Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Arshad Warsi, and Rajpal Yadav is scheduled to be shot in the city this May.

Directed by Ahmed Khan, the UAE-set scenes will be filmed over three days and staged on a luxury yacht equipped with a helipad.

It's not the first time that producer Nadiadwala has filmed his glossy productions in Dubai with several of his earlier family entertainers shot in the emirate since 1996. Gulf News was even invited to the sets of his previous film Welcome Back (more on that later).

Members of the film team said Dubai was selected for practical reasons, including its infrastructure and the ease of executing large-scale shoots. The city’s mix of modern locations and access to production facilities were also cited as contributing factors.

Stay updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click here.

Speaking about the shoot, Shetty said he has frequently worked in Dubai and is familiar with filming conditions in the city. He noted that its infrastructure and overall environment support large productions.

The Dubai schedule forms part of a larger production plan for the film, which brings together an ensemble cast.

Dubai has, in recent years, hosted a steady flow of film and television projects from India and other markets.

Large-scale Bollywood shoots in the UAE have previously involved extensive logistics and action-heavy setups. During the filming of Welcome Back, also produced by Nadiadwala and directed by Anees Bazmee, a desert sequence featured multiple helicopters and a convoy of vehicles including Hummers and Land Cruisers operating simultaneously.

The scene, shot in the UAE desert back in 2018 with actors including John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Shruti Haasan, Paresh Rawal, Nana Patekar and Shiney Ahuja, involved challenging conditions, including strong winds and flying sand during action sequences.

At the time, the production team described the sequence as one of the most significant action set pieces in the film, underscoring the scale of shoots that have previously been mounted in the UAE.