Veteran Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal has confirmed his return to Hera Pheri 3, saying all issues have been “resolved now.”
In a podcast with Himanshu Mehta, Paresh was asked about the Hera Pheri 3 controversy. He replied, “There’s no controversy. I believe that when people have loved something so much, then you have to be extra careful. It is our responsibility toward the audience. The audience has given you so much adulation. You can’t take things for granted. Mehnat karke unko (film) do.”
The actor added, “So, I was of the opinion that sab saath mein aaye, mehnat karein. Aur kuch nahin. It is all resolved now.”
When host Himanshu Mehta reconfirmed that Hera Pheri 3 with the original cast is in the works, Paresh Rawal said, “Pehle bhi aane hi waali thi but it’s just that we had to fine-tune ourselves (laughs). After all, all of them are creative, be it Priyadarshan, Akshay or Suniel. They are friends for many, many, many years.”
When SCREEN reached out to Paresh Rawal for confirmation of his return to Hera Pheri 3, the actor replied in the affirmative, saying, “Yes.”
The Heri Pheri 3 controversy
Paresh Rawal’s sudden exit from Hera Pheri 3 has been making headlines for weeks. Initially, reports suggested that the actor quit the film over creative differences. However, on May 18, Paresh took to X to officially announce he is no longer part of Hera Pheri 3. The actor wrote, “I wish to put it on record that my decision to step away from ‘Hera Pheri 3’ was not due to creative differences. I reiterate that there are no creative disagreement with the filmmaker. I hold immense love, respect, and faith in Mr Priyadarshan.”
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After Paresh Rawal exited Hera Pheri 3, Akshay Kumar, who is also producing the film, reportedly sued him, seeking Rs 25 crore in damages and threatening civil and criminal action. Akshay’s production house claimed it had paid the veteran actor Rs 11 lakh as partial payment and that he had already shot a promo clip along with other videos for the project.
After Akshay sent the legal notice, Paresh’s legal team declared that the actor had paid back the amount of Rs 11 lakh along with 15 per cent interest to Akshay’s production company. The veteran actor wrote on X, “My lawyer, Ameet Naik, has sent an appropriate response regarding my rightful termination and exit. Once they read my response all issues will be laid to rest.”
Despite his differences with Paresh Rawal, Akshay Kumar was seen defending his Hera Pheri co-star at the trailer launch of Housefull 5. When told that fans were disappointed by Paresh’s exit from Hera Pheri 3 and had called him “foolish,” Akshay said it was “not right” to refer to his “good friend” Paresh as “foolish.”
“Using this kind of word for one of my co-star like a foolish word or something. I would not appreciate it, and that’s not right. I worked with him since the last 30-35 years, we are very good friends. He’s a great actor and I really admire him,” said Akshay, adding, ““It’s a very serious matter. It is a matter which is going to be handled by the court.”
