Comedy, chaos and everything in between

Shreyas Talpade, Akshay Kumar, Raveena Tandon and Suniel Shetty

When you have an ensemble cast of 17 performing together, it can result in either chaos or fun. Shreyas Talpade, who is a part of Welcome to the Jungle, says it's equal amount of both on their set. The third instalment of the Welcome franchise stars Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Raveena Tandon, Arshad Warsi, Lara Dutta, Disha Patani, Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever, Rajpal Yadav, Tusshar Kapoor and Krushna Abhishek, among others. How do you ensure a smooth shoot with so many ideas and suggestions flying around? Talpade credits director Ahmed Khan for it.

Ahmed Khan

"All of us get ready in the morning, and ask Ahmed what we are doing that day. He reads out the entire scene, then everybody improvises. Ahmed listens to everyone and says, ‘This is good, remember to do this later.' But eventually, he does what he wants," says the actor. "When 17-18 of us are performing, we wonder whether [the scene is landing]. But the sequences turn out hilarious because Ahmed knows what he is doing. We have surrendered ourselves to him."

After joining the comic caper last December, Talpade had suffered a near-fatal heart attack. Following the health scare, the actor feels grateful for the love his collaborators shower on him during the shoot. He shares, "Akki bhai and Ahmed are always checking on me. Disha would greet me with a tight hug; she treats me like an elder brother. They all are sweet. Even today, wherever I go, the first thing I am asked is, ‘How is your health? Are you doing good?'"