The madness of the Welcome franchise has now made its way to the streaming. Akshay Kumar-led Welcome to the Jungle is officially streaming after completing its theatrical run, giving viewers a chance to watch the ensemble comedy from the comfort of their homes.
Where and when to watch
Welcome to the Jungle started streaming on JioHotstar on August 21. The platform confirmed the release on its official Instagram page with a poster and the caption: “This chaos? Too junglee to miss! #WelcomeToTheJungle, now streaming on #JioHotstar. ”
The OTT premiere comes nearly eight weeks after the film opened in theatres on June 26, following the usual digital release window for Hindi films.
A strong theatrical run
Before making its OTT debut, Welcome to the Jungle had a notable run at the box office. The film crossed the lifetime worldwide collection of the original Welcome (2007) within five days of its release. It went on to earn ₹192.75 crore worldwide. As per box office tracker Sacnilk, the film earned ₹134.11 crore net in India, while its India gross stood at ₹159.15 crore.
A huge ensemble cast
Welcome to the Jungle lives up to the franchise’s reputation for bringing together a large group of popular actors. Director Ahmed Khan brought 34 actors on board for the film, making it one of the biggest ensemble casts in recent Hindi cinema. The film was led by Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal.
The star-studded cast also features Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Arshad Warsi, Jackie Shroff, Raveena Tandon, Lara Dutta, Farida Jalal, Johny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor, Rajpal Yadav, Krushna Abhishek, Kiku Sharda, Daler Mehndi, Aftab Shivdasani, Mukesh Tiwari, Yashpal Sharma, Kiran Kumar, Zakir Hussain, Vindu Dara Singh, Urvashi Rautela, Hemant Pandey, Brijendra Kala, Feroze Khan (Arjun), the late Pankaj Dheer, Puneet Issar, Sudesh Berry, Jeetu Verma, Vrihi Kodvara, and Bhagya Bhanushali.
What is Welcome to the Jungle about?
The story revolves around a businessman who puts his black money into a film, expecting the project to flop. Things, however, take an unexpected turn when a jungle movie shoot is mistaken for an actual military operation. The misunderstanding sets off a series of chaotic situations involving mistaken identities, action sequences and plenty of comic confusion. As the characters get deeper into the mess, the situation only becomes more unpredictable.
An excerpt from the Hindustan Times review read, “Overall, not every film needs to be profound. Some just need to entertain. Welcome To The Jungle understands that assignment from the outset and, despite an average finale, delivers enough laughs to make the ride worthwhile.”