Welcome To The Jungle: Ahmed Khan Responds To Criticism Over Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez's Limited Screen Time

Akshay Kumar-led Welcome to the Jungle hit the screens on June 26 and opened to mostly positive reviews. Directed by Ahmed Khan, the comedy starred more than 30 stars, including Paresh Rawal, Jackie Shroff, Suniel Shetty, Arshad Warsi, Rajpal Yadav and others. Raveena Tandon, Lara Dutta, Jacqueline Fernandez and Disha Patani, among others, were part of the female cast.

After the movie release, viewers and critics questioned the limited screen time and dialogue given to Disha and Jacqueline, sparking debate over the limited screen time for the female actors.

Ahmed Khan has responded to the criticism, defending the casting choices.

Ahmed Khan reveals why Disha Patani and Jacqueline Fernandez had limited roles

Welcome to the Jungle was built around established comedy stars, making it difficult for the director to give everyone equal space. Khan also said that the entire cast understood their specific roles from the beginning.

"When you have such solid actors like Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever, Rajpal Yadav, Shreyas, Aftab, Arshad, Akshay; you know they are kings of comedy, inke beech mein ladkiyon ka dialogue daal ke kya hoga," Ahmed told Hindustan Times.

"So jab yeh bhi understood tha ke ‘we are here to be at this part’ and what does the heroine require? Heroine requires good scenes to be a part of," he added.

Jacqueline and Disha's roles in Welcome to the Jungle

Ahmed explained that Jacqueline's part was deliberately crafted as a "bimbo".

"She comes up with stupid questions every time. She comes up with such questions that people are really shocked in between ki kya pooch rahi hai?" Ahmed said.

Disha plays the ex-girlfriend of Akshay's character whose job is to just make him jealous, insult him and carry emotional baggage, said Khan.