“Hera Pheri 3” finds itself in troubled waters again. Although the third installment of the beloved comedy franchise was officially announced in January 2025, the film recently suffered another setback after the producer. Firoz A. Nadiadwallah confirmed that: Priyadarshan will no longer manage the project. The filmmaker revealed today that a combination of legal complications and his close relationship with the producer led to his exit.In a recent interview with Mid-day, Priyadarshan alleged that Nadiadwallah has repeatedly disrespected him over the years, making it difficult for him to go ahead with the film despite his enthusiasm to bring the iconic trio back to the big screen.Recalling his conversations with the producer, Priyadarshan admits that Firoz A. Nadiadwallah asked Akshay Kumar not to make the film with him. “Firoz told Akshay, ‘You have the right to make ‘Hera Pheri 3’, but don’t make it with Priyadarshan. That’s all I ask.’ He insulted me many times, he told me that my cut of ‘Hera Pheri’ looked like the poor man’s version, that he should edit my five-hour film.”The director added that he accepted the project only because of Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty: and: Paresh Rawal: personally he wants to go back.“Initially I agreed to do the third part with Akshay because I believed I could do one of the biggest franchises in the country. If I had directed it, I could have made it bigger than ‘Dhurandhar’. Akshay, Suniel, and Paresh asked me to do ‘Hera Pheri 3’. When I narrated the story to them, they were all excited.”
The legal battle became a major obstacle
According to Priyadarshan, the problems surrounding the film started almost immediately after its announcement in 2025. He revealed that he received a call from GP Vijayakumar of Seven Arts Films, who warned him that going ahead with the project could violate rights agreements.Explaining the situation, the filmmaker said that copyright issues have become so complicated that he no longer believes that the original trio will reunite for the film.“When ‘Hera Pheri 3’ was announced, I got a call from GP Vijayakumar of Seven Arts Films that if we do the film, it will be a violation. I don’t know what to do. That’s why I said that ‘Hera Pheri 3’ may not see the screens again with the same characters.He added, “According to me, ‘Hera Pheri’ is born, ‘Hera Pheri 2’ gets sick, and ‘Hera Pheri 3’ dies.”
‘Hera Pheri 3’ copyright dispute
The legal dispute dates back to claims made earlier this year by South Indian producer GP Vijayakumar, who alleged that Firoz A. Nadiadwallah did not own the rights to the ‘Hera Pheri’ franchise. Vijayakumar claimed that in 2022, he has acquired the complete franchise rights from Adithya Films, the producers of the Malayalam classic ‘Ramji Rao Speaking’, on which the original ‘Hera Pheri’ was based.He further alleged that Nadiadwallah only bought the rights of the Hindi remake of ‘Ramji Rao Speaking’ and later exceeded the scope of that agreement by making the sequel. Referring to the controversy, Priyadarshan described the matter as “a legally complex copyright battle.”
Priyadarshan in Paresh Rawal’s short out
The director also explained Paresh Rawal’s temporary exit from ‘Hera Pheri 3’ in May 2025. At the time, reports suggested that the actor was unhappy with his remuneration and the way his character was written. Akshay Kumar even filed a Rs 25 crore lawsuit against Rawal before the actor finally returned to the project.However, Priyadarshan dismissed the reports, claiming that the issue stems from legal uncertainty rather than financial disagreements.“At that time, Paresh Rawal got a legal notice from Firoz A. Nadiadwallah saying that while Akshay has the rights to the third part, Nadiadwallah has not sold the three main characters, including Baburao’s. Paresh was scared and wanted to get a legal opinion on this. So he left the film. Money is not an issue.”Despite the uncertainty surrounding the franchise, Priyadarshan expressed hope that the beloved series will survive. “Hera Pheri is one of my favorite films so whatever the outcome and whoever the producers are, let ‘Hera Pheri’ live long, by entertaining the people who love it.”On the professional front, Priyadarshan has several projects in several languages. The veteran filmmaker recently teamed up with Akshay Kumar for the horror-comedy ‘Bhooth Bangla’, marking their collaboration after several years. He also directed the Malayalam courtroom drama ‘Justice’, starring Mohanlal in the lead.