Having worked for the first time with the trio of actors Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal, along with producer Firoz Nadiadwala, on the recent hit Welcome To The Jungle, director Ahmed Khan has built a strong rapport with the team. With the same team behind the Hera Pheri franchise, Khan opens up about the possibility of directing its third instalment after Priyadarshan stepped down from the director’s chair.

“That’s a spot which everybody would want to be in. Akshay, Suniel, Paresh, Firoz and Hera Pheri are like a family, and for me, I am a part of that cinema. So, whenever it is made, I am going to be a part of it, irrespective of whether I direct it or not. We will make it together,” he says.

Speaking on how the trio remains inseparable from their Hera Pheri characters, the 52-year-old says, “When I had all three of them in my film, I didn’t read them as Babu Rao, Shyam and Raju... But the audiences’ eyes are well tuned to see them as that. Their timing is still the same. Many times, I had to break it. That was my only battle with them,” he shares.

While confirming his association with the franchise, Khan also shares that his immediate priority is launching his son, Azaan Khan. “I am just concentrating on my son, who keeps looking at me with the question of when his chance is coming. I am focusing on his launch this year. I am also planning another big film which will be announced soon,” he ends.

Filmmaker- choreographer Ahmed Khan is all set to launch his son Azaan as a hero after the release of his upcoming directorial Welcome To The Jungle, featuring Akshay Kumar and a star-studded ensemble cast.

Interestingly, Ahmed and Azaan share the same birthday, which they celebrate today. “Even if I don’t remember my own birthday, I have to remember it because of Azaan. He is the best gift my wife could have given me,” Ahmed says with a smile.

Speaking about the launch, he says, “Yes, the film goes on the floors after the release of Welcome To The Jungle. He’s a choreographer’s son, so of course, there will be expectations about how he performs. I give him a good rank 7/10 when it comes to dance, but he’s even better when it comes to action.” He adds, “Haseen ladka hai, he just has to cut through.”

Ahmed says the nervousness is less on him and more on Azaan. “I don’t behave like his father, but his director now. I don’t go around saying ‘Mera beta superstar.’ Either the audience will like him, or he has to keep trying. Filmmakers like Raj Kapoor and Rakesh Roshan found the perfect balance between being a father and filmmaker, which is important to find.”

Speaking about trolls and preparing his son to be thick-skinned, he adds, “Once you have selected this profession, there will be people jealous of your position; you have to deal with it. Everyone has a job, and so do trolls; trolling is their job. I’m not on social media, I’m a zen person.”

There is no single path to success in the film industry. Some use connections, others rely on luck and hard work, while a few gain experience in filmmaking before facing the camera. As the nepotism debate continues, director-choreographer Ahmed Khan’s son, Azaan (23), is preparing for his acting debut in a yet-untitled revenge drama, which begins filming in November in a start-to-finish schedule.

While Ahmed is busy directing Welcome To The Jungle, he’s also focused on finding the right launch vehicle for Azaan. The actor has worked behind the scenes before stepping into the spotlight. “Aamir [Khan] learned direction as he was filmmaker Tahir Hussain’s son, writer Salim Khan’s son Salman [Khan] was an assistant director before becoming an actor. They all learnt filmmaking before becoming actors to reach where they are now,” says Ahmed.

Azaan started as a technician, learning the ropes of direction, production, choreography, and martial arts. “Azaan has grown up watching filmmaking at home. When he was 15 years old, he shot and featured in his own song. One day, he told me that he had learned all [about filmmaking] and now wanted to try his hand at acting,” Ahmed shares.

On sets, Azaan would stand in for actors, reciting dialogues and expressions under the DoP’s guidance between shots. “Only a technician’s son can understand the importance of this. He doesn’t wish to debut as a typical, chocolate-boy or dancing hero but as something completely unconventional,” Ahmed confirms.

Being a director, one would assume that Ahmed Khan will direct his son’s launch vehicle. However, he says that he “will direct Azaan Khan’s second film”. “It is a challenge to make a film on a technician’s son who is from the film industry but I know Azaan will make me proud,” he says.

Choreographer turned director Ahmed Khan entered the film industry as a child actor in 1986 with Mr India. The next year will mark his four decades in cinema, a time that saw his evolution from actor to directing action movies (Baaghi 2, Baaghi 3, Heropanti 2) and now comedy with Welcome To The Jungle (WTTJ), the franchise’s third instalment. In a candid chat with BT, Ahmed revealed why commercial cinema is here to stay, Welcome sequel’s casting changes and why he has no intention of sticking to making sequels only.

Sanjay Dutt’s last-minute exit from WTTJ sparked curiosity. The director revealed, “When I started the film, everyone had this fear, kaisay hoga. Casting changes happen in all films whether big or small. It can happen just 15 days prior to shooting. Sanjay Dutt had a good role but dates sabke manage karnay mein issue ho gaya tha. We are like a close-knit family, so we understood each other. He just shot for a day before exiting the project. I can’t tell you if he was replaced or we created a new character because it will trigger this whole talk about isko liya tha pehle, usko liya tha pehle. Aap dekhogay toh aapko yeh pata nahi chalega that who was cast as whom before.”

It was speculated the film was delayed due to its casting and financial hiccups. “I would not like to comment much but we started the film in March last year 2024. Itni badi film will need a year so there’s no delay as such. Half the industry was working with me. The film has Akshay Kumar, Jacqueline Fernandez, Disha Patani, Raveena Tandon, Aftab Shivdasani, Lara Dutta and Shreyas Talpade. I cancelled other actors' dates for Shreyas, when he faced an untimely health scare. We waited and shot with him. Every actor stood by Shreyas and said they will change their dates for him. He is a strong guy.”

Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor as Uday and Majnu were iconic characters of Welcome and their omission too felt strange. Ahmed clarified, “I tried to change the vibe of the third instalment. We wanted a totally new look because the audience has changed, humour has changed. They may be back in welcome 4 but it wasn’t necessary for us to recreate the same casting now.”

The filmmaker feels that while commercial films are looked upon as run-of-the-mill, it’s a challenge to make them.

He explains, "Commercial films are toughest to make because everything needs to look good. Be it the hero, heroine, costumes, songs, high octane action or location. The reach is more so the backlash is more as well. You must do it unapologetically. You have to meet expectations of people who want it to be larger than life and yet believable. Bimari pay ek film banalo. Serious hai, background music kam hai, action nahi hai, gaane nahi hai, hospital hai, ghar hai, bimari hai, pareshani hai, dawai hai. People don’t care if it’s not looking good visually. Content driven film may have 50 people on set, we have 500. A lot of effort goes into managing that sort of crew. Commercial Hindi films will never go out of style. Women want a man to give them flowers, be gentle, shower attention, lock eyes with. SRK gives you that."

Looking back at his four decades in cinema, he says, “I started off as a child actor in 1986. I was a choreographer for 25 years of my life! Imagine jumping from choreography to directing action movies and action to directing comedy. I have seen the evolution of cinema. Today’s actors are so well trained. Pehle dhundna padta tha actors ki body hai ki nahi, dance aata kay ahi, now look at today’s boys. They can be compared to international actors and models. The competition is now Timothee Chalamet when it comes to talent and Chris Hemsworth when it comes to physique. Alia Bhatt worked with Gal Gadot and they don’t even make noise about it. 90’s mein main bhi battameez tha. I used to feel it’s okay to be arrogant if you are in the film industry. Today, the youngsters address makeup dada as sir, Tiger Shroff addresses a spot boy as sir.”

The director we hear will launch his son Azaan as an actor soon. Ahmed revealed, “He is a charming 23-year-old. He wants me to launch him like Rakesh ji did for Hrithik. I am very objective that way. I will never say, mera beta superstar banega and he will never say my daddy is the strongest. He knows I am not tall, and I tell him he’s not light-eyed like Hrithik. We are very honest that way, we roast each other. My son knows I am quite critical. He knows he will only succeed if he has it in him.”