After the barsaat, time to re-start

Akshay Kumar, Disha Patani, Suniel Shetty and Raveena Tandon

Shooting in the monsoons can be a gamble, and Welcome to the Jungle director Ahmed Khan got dealt a rough hand. Earlier this week, a huge set, constructed at the Golden Tobacco studio in Vile Parle, was damaged by the torrential rains (Blame it on the rain, August 5). Five days on, the set has been rebuilt, and the director is ready to call action again on the Akshay Kumar-led comedy today.

The ensemble cast - including Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Raveena Tandon, Jacqueliene Fernandez, Disha Patani and others - was to originally kick off the schedule on August 4. For the stint, production designer Shailesh Mahadik had built an elaborate set depicting a Kashmiri town. A source reveals, "This set was first built in March, over 10 acres of land. It was so vast that actors had to travel in golf carts from their vanity vans. While it was dismantled after the shoot, the makers later needed a portion of the set-up again for some scenes. So, a part was rebuilt in late July. But days before the August 4 shoot, the set was damaged by the Mumbai downpour."

Ahmed Khan

Mahadik's team took the blow in their stride, and as soon as the rains abated, began creating the world a third time over. "They had to re-create a house situated in the centre of the set. Now, the actors are set to return to the location."

When mid-day reached out to Khan, he said that such mishaps are not uncommon. "We're managing our actors' dates, and will shoot with those available [today]. Thanks to our producer Firoz bhai [Nadiadwallah], construction is going on and we are ready to resume work. The redesigned set is bigger."