The Real Reason Priyadarshan Just Walked Away From Hera Pheri 3
The roller-coaster ride that is Hera Pheri 3 has taken another massive hit. Just a few months after the long-awaited comedy sequel was officially announced, veteran director Priyadarshan has officially jumped ship. While producer Firoz A. Nadiadwala initially confirmed the exit without much flavor, Priyadarshan is now setting the record straight. He is pulling no punches, citing a toxic mix of deep-seated personal insults and a tangled web of legal nightmares.
In a candid chat with Mid-day, the filmmaker admitted that he only agreed to come back because the iconic trio of Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Paresh Rawal begged him to. He had huge plans for the sequel, even claiming he could have made it bigger than his legendary hit Dhurandhar. Instead, years of disrespect from Nadiadwala made staying impossible.
According to Priyadarshan, Nadiadwala actively tried to sabotage his involvement by telling Akshay Kumar to make the movie with anyone else but him. The director also revealed that the producer constantly belittled his work, calling his original cut of Hera Pheri a “poor man’s version” and bragging about having to trim down a five-hour movie.
A Legal Minefield
Even if the personal drama had cleared up, the movie faces massive legal hurdles that might permanently shelve it. Shortly after the film’s announcement, Priyadarshan was warned by Seven Arts Films that moving forward would violate copyright agreements.
The roots of this battle go back to South Indian producer G.P. Vijayakumar, who claims Nadiadwala does not actually own the franchise rights. Vijayakumar bought the complete rights in 2022 from Adithya Films, the creators of the Malayalam movie Ramji Rao Speaking which Hera Pheri was adapted from. He argues that Nadiadwala only ever owned the remake rights for the first film and had no legal authority to make sequels.
Priyadarshan thinks this copyright mess is too tangled to fix, grimly predicting that Hera Pheri was born, the second part got sick, and this third one will be dead.
Setting the Record Straight on Paresh Rawal
The director also cleared up the rumors from earlier this year regarding Paresh Rawal’s brief exit from the project. While rumor mills blamed salary disputes and a massive lawsuit from Akshay Kumar, Priyadarshan says it was actually panic over legal threats.
Nadiadwala had sent Rawal a notice claiming that while Akshay held the rights to the third movie, the rights to the actual characters, including the legendary Baburao, were not cleared. Rawal stepped away simply to get legal advice, not because of money.
Despite the bitter exit, Priyadarshan still hopes the franchise survives in some form for the sake of the fans. In the meantime, he has already moved on to other massive projects, including a reunion with Akshay Kumar for the horror-comedy Bhooth Bangla and a Malayalam courtroom drama starring Mohanlal.
