When it comes to Bollywood comedy, few franchises enjoy the kind of cult love that Hera Pheri does. With Hera Pheri 3 on the way, fans were recently hit with reports of a fallout between Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar. The veteran actor even briefly walked out of the film.
But things are back on track now. Paresh Rawal has returned, and the film is moving forward. Director Priyadarshan, who helmed the first two parts and is now working on the third, finally spoke about what really went down.
In a chat with Pinkvilla, the filmmaker clarified that neither he nor Akshay Kumar ever had any issues with Paresh Rawal. “Me and Paresh never had an issue. Even to the best of my knowledge, Akshay and Paresh never had any issues. There are some other forces, bad forces, who was pressurising Paresh and Paresh is a guy…it's like you know people who are afraid that I'm sick and hyper about it, he has another problem. So, he is afraid, but at the same time, our relationship has never been affected,” Priyadarshan said.
The director then hinted that outside interference played a role in shaking things up. “Akshay told me that, ‘Prince sir, if it happens, let it happen. Otherwise, let's forget it.' That's all. If it happens in a very good way. There are other bad forces which created a lot of issues. It is not worth talking about them, so I am not talking. Let's hope for the best all through our life. It is filmmaking, you have enemies, friends, fans, critics, so many things in this world. How I survived 40 years, I still don't know,” he added.
In Hera Pheri 3, Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Paresh Rawal will be returning as Raju, Shyam, and Baburao, respectively. The first film, released in 2000, became an instant cult hit thanks to its quirky humour and unforgettable one-liners. Its 2006 sequel, Phir Hera Pheri, carried the madness forward and cemented the trio's place in Bollywood comedy history.
