Welcome to the Jungle is a 2026 Indian Hindi-language action adventure comedy film directed by Ahmed Khan, written by Neeraj Vora, and produced by Firoz Nadiadwala, Rakesh Dang, and Vedant Vikaas Baali under Base Industries Group, Cape of Good Films, and Seeta Films. The film stars an ensemble cast of Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Jackie Shroff, Paresh Rawal, Arshad Warsi, Raveena Tandon, Jacqueline Fernandez, Disha Patani, Johnny Lever, Rajpal Yadav, Farida Jalal, Lara Dutta, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Aftab Shivdasani, Yashpal Sharma (actor), and Akshara Singh cameo as a Bhojpuri actress. It is the third installment in the Welcome film series, succeeding Welcome (2007) and Welcome Back (2015) [1][2]. It is loosely based on the 2005 American film The Producers [3] as well as the 2008 American film Tropic Thunder [4]. Principal photography took place in Mumbai and the United Arab Emirates.
Welcome to the Jungle was released worldwide on 26 June 2026. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a commercial success. It is the 9th highest-grossing Hindi film of 2026.
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Plot
Welcome to the Jungle follows Sinha, a wealthy businessman who seeks to avoid paying taxes by creating a ₹2,000 crore film that is deliberately designed to fail. His secretary, Dubey, suggests producing a high-budget movie featuring an unsuccessful actor and an inexperienced director duo.
Sinha agrees to the plan, and Dubey assembles a large cast and crew. Rajiv Kohli is selected as the lead actor, while Dev and Das are appointed as directors. Rajiv's former lover, Nadia, is also brought into the project. However, two underworld figures, Yeda Anna Shetty and Romeo, pressure the directors into giving them prominent roles in the film.
The film's story follows an Indian military mission to rescue a village. During filming, the production encounters numerous accidents, misunderstandings, and unexpected expenses. The project quickly exceeds its budget, creating difficulties for Sinha's plan.
Meanwhile, an income-tax raid leaves Sinha without the money needed to continue production. Desperate to complete the film, he orders Dubey to finish the remaining work within a single day. However, a costly set has already been destroyed without any usable footage being recorded.
The action director, Dominic, suggests moving production to a nearby village that resembles the original set. He warns the crew that the region is threatened by terrorists, but the filmmakers decide to proceed.
When the crew arrives, the villagers mistake the actors for real Indian soldiers who have come to rescue them. At the same time, the filmmakers misunderstand the villagers' fear and reactions, believing that everything is part of the film's production.
As the real danger increases, the fictional military mission turns into an actual struggle for survival. The crew becomes involved in a series of chaotic situations involving criminals, terrorists, and the villagers, forcing the unlikely heroes to confront a crisis beyond the film set.
Production
Principal photography began in December 2023. The film was shot primarily in Mumbai, where a 10-acre jungle set was constructed and a replica of a Kashmiri town was constructed at Film City, Goregaon [10]. Filming also took place in the United Arab Emirates, across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ras Al Khaimah, where two romantic songs were filmed. In June 2025, the film got delayed due to financial crises. Later in November 2025, the film's shoot resumes with the shooting of a song sequence. Principal photography was completed in December 2025.
Music
The title track "Welcome to the Jungle" was released on 18 May 2026. The second single "Ghis Ghis Ghis" was released on 25 May 2026. The third song, "Ucha Lamba Kad Forever," was a recreated version of "Uncha Lamba Kad" from the first film and was released on 1 June 2026. The fourth single "Deewane Hain" was released on 18 June 2026. The fifth single "Tera Paisa Mera Paisa" was released on 23 June 2026.
The song "Kaanta Laga," sung by Lata Mangeshkar and composed by R. D. Burman from the film Samadhi (1972) and its 2002 remix by DJ Doll, is featured in a sequence with Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Farida Jalal.
Release
Theatrical
Welcome to the Jungle was a worldwide theatrical release on 26 June 2026. Paid preview night shows were held on 25 June 2026.
Certification
The film received a UA 16+ certificate on 22 June 2026 by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) [25] in a total duration of 164 minutes.
Home media
The film began streaming on JioHotstar from 21 August 2026.
Reception
Box office
On its opening day, the film earned ₹14.80 crore at the domestic box office. Paid preview screenings held a day prior to its release contributed an additional ₹3.93 crore, taking the film's opening collection to ₹18.73 crore.
Welcome to the Jungle grossed ₹196.10 crore (US$20 million) worldwide. It grossed ₹162.50 crore (US$17 million) in India and ₹33.60 crore (US$3.5 million) in the overseas market.
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 47% of 15 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.40/10.
A critic at Bollywood Hungama awarded Welcome to the Jungle is a 3.5-star out of 5, concluding, "On the whole, WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE is a madcap, no-holds-barred comic entertainer that works due to its brainrot humor, grand scale, massy moments, and unexpected developments. The film is not for those seeking logic or subtlety. However, its unabashed madness and crowd-pleasing moments give it a strong chance to find favor in mass centers. At the box office, it can emerge as a wholesome entertainer for viewers looking for paisa-vasool fun."
Titas Chowdhury of News18 gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5, also writing, "Basically, Welcome To The Jungle throws everything at the wall, right from meta humor, slapstick, and nostalgia to action and gibberish, and somehow, enough of it sticks. There’s nothing that lies beneath the noise, and it may not make sense, but then again, sense was never really the point. It works best when you surrender to its wild, logic-defying energy and simply go along for the ride."
A critic at Scroll noted, "A comedy inspired by The Producers and Tropic Thunder, which itself is ripe for parody, cheerfully acknowledges its unending appetite for nonsensical scenes." Rahul Desai of The Hollywood Reporter India juxtaposed, "Whereas Tropic Thunder sent up everything from method acting to war-movie tropes, Welcome to the Jungle spoofs its own ilk: tax-evasion projects disguised as jingoistic spectacles, opportunistic filmmakers, exes working together, spineless stars who magically grow a conscience, film industries preying on the anxieties of a nation, and the formula of box-office success. The premise is localised."
Agnivo Niyogi of The Telegraph pointed out, "Yet throughout the film, one cannot help but miss the manic brilliance that Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor brought to the earlier Welcome films. Their absence leaves a noticeable void that no amount of star power quite manages to fill.
Rishabh Suri of Hindustan Times gave the film 3 stars out of 5, praising the comic timing of Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav, the acting performances of the ensemble cast, the chemistry of Akshay Kumar with his Hera Pheri colleagues (Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, and Rajpal Yadav), and the dialogues by Farhad Samji; however, he was disappointed by the film's soundtrack and found the climax too stretched out.
