Anees Bazmee is the man of the moment as the filmmaker has provided relief to Bollywood after his latest release Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 starring Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani is running successfully at the box office. The horror-comedy became the biggest Bollywood opener of 2022 collecting Rs 14.11 crore on its release date of May 20.
Though Akshay Kumar isn't a part of the sequel, Anees has collaborated with the Prithviraj actor previously on highly successful comedies Welcome and Singh Is Kinng. And now, in a recent interview, the director has revealed that the 2007 cult comedy Welcome was initially started as a love story.
Talking to Pinkvilla, Anees said, "Back in the 2000s, Akshay Kumar Ji called me after watching Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha. He asked me to write a script for him, and I attempted to make a romantic film. Very few know that Welcome started off as a love story back in the day. But as the writing progressed, it turned out to be a comedy".
"The story lent itself to all those quirky characters, though it was essentially a love story of Rajiv and Sanjana. I can’t disrupt my flow as a writer. My process is to enter the tunnel, but then, I don’t know how the tunnel ends", added Bazmee. Welcome was a box office blockbuster and is still regarded as one of the best comedies.
READ | Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 director Anees Bazmee on not casting Akshay Kumar: 'He is too big for these small things'
Apart from Akshay and Katrina playing the roles of Rajiv and Sanjana, the film has memorable hilarious characters in the form of Nana Patekar as Uday Shetty, Anil Kapoor as Majnu Bhai, Feroz Khan as Don RDX, and Paresh Rawal as Dr. Ghungroo. Released in the same year as the prequel Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Welcome was the second-highest-grossing film of 2007.
