After years of speculation and several production delays, the much-anticipated third installment of the iconic comedy franchise ‘Hera Pheri’ is finally back on track. Akshay Kumar recently confirmed that veteran director Priyadarshan, who helmed the original 2000 classic, will return to direct ‘Hera Pheri 3’.
The announcement came as a surprise during Priyadarshan’s birthday celebration, reigniting fan excitement across the country.
The film’s journey hasn’t been smooth. Earlier, it was announced with director Farhad Samji and was to be produced by Firoz Nadiadwala.
However, due to multiple blocks and legal complications, the project had stalled. Now with Priyadarshan stepping back in, there’s a renewed sense of hope. As the director himself puts it, “I was very confident that Hera Pheri would work but I never expected it to become a cult film. It had decent humour and excellent performances.”
Fans have always associated Priyadarshan with the franchise, as he directed the original film which went on to become a cultural phenomenon. His return has generated immense excitement. Speaking to ETV Bharat, Priyadarshan said, “This time around, he’s taking it as a huge challenge.” The pressure of matching fan expectations is high, especially with the original trio — Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, and Suniel Shetty — returning to reprise their roles.
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Interestingly, the cast too had doubts during the making of the first film. “People never believed that Akshay, Suniel and Paresh can pull off a comedy because those days they were doing different kinds of movies. But it surprised them and the success of Hera Pheri was a turning point in their career.”
Priyadarshan added, “I plan to start work, start writing Hera Pheri 3 sometime next year. It is going to be very challenging to make the third part because there will be too many expectations.” He further emphasized, “People are waiting to see Akshay, Paresh and Suniel again and we always say that it is easy to make people cry, it is easy to scare people but to make them laugh is very difficult and that too without using double entendre dialogues.”
He acknowledged how humor needs to evolve with time. “You have to make humour so pure and identifiable. Then, humor also changes, and the taste of the society changes. We have to catch up with that. Characters have gotten older and accordingly people should believe… these are important things. I am taking it as a challenge. Let’s see how it works.”
Currently, Priyadarshan is also working on another film titled ‘Bhoot Bangla’ starring Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, and Tabu.
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