Paresh Rawal confirmed last Sunday that his issues with the makers of Hera Pheri 3 have been resolved amicably, and that he’s back in the film. While no official statement from producer Akshay Kumar and the film’s team has been made yet, director Priyadarshan has now confirmed that the threequel is back on track.
“Both Akshay and Paresh called to say that everything is sorted,” he said, adding, “I was in shock when Paresh said, ‘Sir, I’m doing the movie. I have never had anything except a lot of respect for you. I’ve done 26 movies with you, and I’m sorry to have left the film. There were some personal issues.’”
In the interview with Mid-Day, the filmmaker also said that Akshay, Paresh, and Suniel Shetty met with each other to resolve the issues. “Hera Pheri cannot happen without any of the three lead characters. Recently, on a flight, a diamond merchant and his family came to me and requested me to bring Paresh back. They said they won’t watch the film otherwise,” said Priyadarshan.
The director will now start writing the script of Hera Pheri 3, and the production is supposed to start by the end of this year, with a release planned for next year. However, Neeraj Vora who served as a screenwriter on the first part, and also as a director on the 2006 sequel Phir Hera Pheri, won’t be there to collaborate this time around. He died of a stroke in 2017.
“Whatever I do, I cannot surpass Hera Pheri. The second part was bad; it was a copy of a Hollywood movie,” said Priyadarshan. Phir Hera Pheri was allegedly a rip-off of Guy Ritchie’s 1998 neo-noir black comedy crime drama Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Priyadarshan also denied any rumoured involvement of producer Sajid Nadiadwala and filmmaker Ahmed Khan in the patching up of Akshay and Paresh.
Before Hera Pheri 3, Akshay, Paresh, and Suniel will also share screen space in Ahmed’s adventure comedy Welcome to the Jungle, which is the threequel of Anees Bazmee’s 2007 cult comedy Welcome. While Paresh was a part of Welcome and its 2015 sequel Welcome Back, Akshay was only in the first film. Suniel is a new entrant in the franchise.
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Hera Pheri 3 has been in the making for 10 years. While Akshay had initially walked out of the film, he rejoined it after buying the franchise’s rights from Firoz Nadiadwala. Once Priyadarshan also came onboard to direct, Paresh walked out of the film without citing any particular reasons officially. Akshay even sued Paresh for violating his contract. Akshay and Paresh will also be seen sharing screen space in Priyadarshan’s horror comedy Bhooth Bangla, which is slated to release in cinemas on April 2, 2026.
