Bollywood’s most iconic comedy franchise, Hera Pheri, is now embroiled in a new controversy. According to reports, Akshay Kumar has filed a legal suit of Rs 25 crore against his co-star Paresh Rawal. The reason is Paresh’s sudden and ‘extremely unprofessional’ exit from Hera Pheri 3.
According to a Hindustan Times report, Akshay Kumar, who is not only the lead actor but also the producer of this film, has taken legal action against Paresh Rawal. It is being said that Paresh had signed a legal contract for the film, but despite this, he left the film midway. Akshay is now fighting this case through his production house, Cape of Good Films. It is also interesting that in his 35-year film career, this is the first time Akshay has filed a lawsuit against a co-star.
The shooting of Hera Pheri 3 had started in April. Akshay, Sunil Shetty and Paresh Rawal, all three actors were present on the set and the shooting was going on. But then Paresh Rawal suddenly left the film. Meanwhile, the makers of the film had invested a huge amount in the location, setup and shooting.
Recently, Paresh Rawal clarified the matter by tweeting, in which he 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 IS NO CREATIVE DISAGREEMENT WITH THE FILM MAKER. I hold immense love, respect, and faith in Mr Priyadarshan, the film director.’
Although he did not clearly state the real reason for Paresh Rawal’s sudden exit, according to reports, he just said that, ‘I don’t feel like being a part of this film anymore.’
This is not the first time that Paresh Rawal has left a film midway. Earlier, he had suddenly left Billu Barber, which was a Shahrukh Khan film and Priyadarshan was directing it too. Paresh was supposed to return in Oh My God 2, but he refused due to the script.
Paresh Rawal has expressed his displeasure over the sequels of Hera Pheri many times. In an interview with Lallantop, he said, ‘You cook up the same thing when you make sequels after sequels, not like Lage Raho Munna Bhai was to Munna Bhai MBBS, where you take characters in a different direction. Everybody wants to capitalise on sequels, but do something different with the character that has Rs 500 crore worth of goodwill. Why not fly with it? But there’s mental bankruptcy or mental lethargy. I’m doing the sequel because I don’t want the film to get stuck, but there is no happiness.’
Now it remains to be seen whether this matter will reach the courtroom or both actors will resolve it through mutual talks. But one thing is certain, the story of Hera Pheri 3 is now becoming equally interesting not only on screen, but also behind the screen.
