After Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Suniel Shetty met and sorted out issues, Paresh called Priyadarshan to confirm that he is doing Hera Pheri 3 and that he has decided to opt out of the threequel only due to some “personal issues”.
Paresh Rawal confirmed last Sunday that his issues with the makers of Hera Pheri 3 have been resolved amicably, and he is back on board the film. While there has been no official statement from producer Akshay Kumar and the film’s team yet, director Priyadarshan has now confirmed that the threequel is back on track.
“Both Akshay and Paresh called to inform that everything is fine,” he said. He further added, “When Paresh said, ‘Sir, I am doing this film’, I was shocked. I had nothing but immense respect for you. I have done 26 films with you and I am sad to leave the film. There were some personal issues.” In the interview with Mid-Day, the filmmaker also said that Akshay, Paresh and Suniel Shetty met each other to sort out the issues. Priyadarshan said, “Hera Pheri cannot be made without the three main characters. Recently, on a flight, a diamond merchant and his family came up to me and requested me to bring Paresh back. They said they would not watch the film otherwise.” The director will now start writing the script of Hera Pheri 3 and it will begin production by the end of this year, with plans to release it next year. However, Neeraj Vora who worked as the screenwriter on the first part, and also as the director on the 2006 sequel Phir Hera Pheri, will not be there to collaborate this time. He died of a stroke in 2017.
“Whatever I do, I can’t do better than Hera Pheri. The second part was bad; it was a copy of a Hollywood film,” Priyadarshan said. Then Hera Pheri was reportedly a copy of Guy Ritchie’s 1998 neo-noir black comedy crime drama Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Priyadarshan denied any rumours of producer Sajid Nadiadwala and filmmaker Ahmed Khan being involved in a patchup between Akshay and Paresh.
Before Hera Pheri 3, Akshay, Paresh and Sunil will also share screen space in Ahmed’s adventure comedy Welcome to the Jungle, a threequel to Anees Bazmee’s 2007 cult comedy Welcome. Paresh was part of Welcome and its 2015 sequel Welcome Back, while Akshay was only in the first film. Sunil is the new entrant in the franchise. Hera Pheri 3 has been 10 years in the making. Although Akshay had initially left the film, he rejoined it after buying the rights of the franchise from Firoz Nadiadwala. When Priyadarshan also came on board to direct, Paresh officially walked out of the film without citing any specific reason. Akshay even sued Paresh for violating his contract. Akshay and Paresh will also be seen sharing screen space in Priyadarshan’s horror comedy Bhoot Bangla, which is scheduled to release in theatres on April 2, 2026.
