Superstar Akshay Kumar on Thursday marked the 16th anniversary of hit movie "Welcome" and announced that Sanjay Dutt has joined the franchise's upcoming third part.

Kumar posted a photo from the sets of the movie, which is titled "Welcome To The Jungle" and is being directed by Ahmed Khan.

"What a lovely coincidence that we celebrate 16 years of #Welcome today while I am shooting for the franchise's third part #Welcome To The Jungle. And it's wonderful to welcome Sanju Baba in this one. What do you think? @duttsanjay #Welcome3," the 56-year-old actor wrote.

“Welcome”, released on December 21, 2007, became a huge hit at the domestic box office. It also featured Katrina Kaif, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Paresh Rawal and late Feroz Khan. The second movie, called ”Welcome Back”, came out in 2015.

Both the movies were directed by Anees Bazmee.

"Welcome To The Jungle" will feature an ensemble cast which also includes Suniel Shetty, Raveena Tandon, Johnny Lever, Paresh Rawal, Lara Dutta, Rajpal Yadav, Arshad Warsi, Jacqueline Fernandez, Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor,Disha Patani, Kiku Sharada and Krushna Abhishek. Singers Daler Mehndi and Mika Singh round out the cast.

The movie is scheduled to be released in theatres on December 20, 2024.

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