Beginning with a bang, and a lot of bucks

A still from Welcome to the Jungle

Some developments can only be a reality when Akshay Kumar is associated with a project. One of the industry's highest-paid stars got a birthday gift befitting his title - a film teaser that was mounted on a budget of approximately Rs 2 crores.

Yep! You read that right. Nope. We meant a film teaser, not an entire film. The makers of Welcome to the Jungle announced the making of the Kumar-starrer in a magnificent way, roping in the crew of 24 to put up an a cappella performance.

Talking about the trailer that runs for three minutes and twenty seconds, producer Firoz Nadiadwala tells mid-day, "For the first time in the history of world cinema, an a cappella performance has been delivered by 24 actors in a movie. The unique idea was conceptualised by director Ahmed Khan, and has been received positively by the audience. Our aim, as a production house, has always been to provide family entertainment to the audience."

A cappella is an act performed without instrumental accompaniment.

A source close to the development adds, "It took 30 days to complete work on this teaser, and each aspect of production, including the makeup and costumes, lighting, VFX, and cinematography was looked into in great detail. The teaser was shot at a suburban studio with all 24 actors."

The track from the third edition of the Welcome franchise, also starring Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Arshad Warsi, Paresh Rawal, Lara Dutta, Jacqueline Fernandez, Disha Patani and Johnny Lever, among others, has been composed by Meet Brothers.

The first edition of the franchise released in 2007, and the second, in 2015.

Rs 1.5CR
Amount spent on expenses like makeup and costumes