Fans are eagerly awaiting the third installment of the beloved ‘Welcome’ film series starring Akshay Kumar. The announcement that the dynamic ‘Munna Bhai’ duo, Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi, would join Akshay sparked waves of joy among netizens. However, several reports have surfaced citing Sanjay Dutt’s exit from the film.

Last year, Akshay Kumar shared a post on Instagram expressing his excitement and welcoming Sanju Baba to the franchise. Incidentally, the day also marked 16 years since the first installment of the ‘Welcome’ film series. He captioned the post, “What a lovely coincidence that we celebrate 16 years of Welcome today while I am shooting for the franchise’s third part WelcomeToTheJungle. And it’s wonderful to welcome Sanju Baba in this one. What do you think?” However, the joy of Dutt and Kumar sharing the screen proved to be short-lived as Sanju Baba walked out of the film. Several reasons behind the decision have been circulating, from schedule conflicts to Dutt’s health concerns.

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According to a report by Pinkvilla, Dutt is no longer a part of ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ due to his inability to keep up with the action sequences set for his role because of health concerns. The report noted, “A source close to the development revealed to us that the actor had shot for the film headlined by Akshay Kumar for only one day in Madh Island…The source also disclosed that his character had a lot of action in the movie, and hence, he decided to walk out considering his health issues.”

It is imperative to note here that Sanjay Dutt is a cancer survivor, overcoming his battle with cancer in October 2023. Dutt had relieved his fans by tweeting, “My heart is filled with gratitude as I share this news with all of you today. Thank you.” In the post, he said, “And today, on the occasion of my kids’ birthday, I am happy to come out victorious from this battle and be able to give them the best gift I can- the health and well-being of our family.”

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On the other hand, Bollywood Hungama revealed in a report that Dutt parted ways with the project due to scheduling conflicts and constant changes in the script. The report claimed that a source close to the project iterated to them that, “Sanjay Dutt has cited date issues for his exit. He has conveyed all the issues to his dear friend Akshay, who took the points into account and holds no bad blood. Sanjay Dutt felt that the Welcome To The Jungle shoot was happening in an unplanned way, with too many changes in the script, disturbing his diary of the shoot, and hence has parted ways.” The report also claimed that Dutt shot for 15 days for the upcoming release.

These contradicting reports aren’t the only spotlight the project has garnered since the announcement. Actors Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar, who played integral roles in the franchise’s first film, won’t be present in the slated release, disappointing fans.

The upcoming film nonetheless boasts a stellar star cast alongside Akshay Kumar, including Arshad Warsi, Suniel Shetty, Raveena Tandon, Lara Dutta Bhupati, Jacqueline Fernandez, Disha Patani, Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever, Rajpal Yadav, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, and Krushna Abhishek, among others.