Priyadarshan feels ‘Hera Pheri 3’ will ‘never get made’: ‘Lot of complications’

Filmmaker Priyadarshan has said that he feels a third part for the Hera Pheri franchise “will never get made”. His remarks come amidst confusion regarding the third part of the popular comedy franchise.

Earlier this year, Akshay Kumar had said there was “no possibility of” Hera Pheri 3 “as of now”. Before that, Paresh Rawal had walked out of the project while clarifying that there were no creative differences with director Priyadarshan.

“That has a lot of other complications, too many complications. I’d need chapters and chapters to talk about it,” he told Hindustan Times about stepping back from Hera Pheri 3, “I don’t think it will ever get made.”

Priyadarshan has experienced a mixed professional year, with Bhooth Bangla turning out to be a success, while Haiwaan underperformed at the box office.

A sequel to his 2006 comedy Bhagam Bhaag, which originally starred Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, and Govinda, is also in the works. However, Priyadarshan said he will not be directing this installment.

“I never do sequels because the reason that you are doing part 2, it should be better than the part one, like with the Terminator franchise where part 2 was a better film than part 1. Unless you have a much better story, you shouldn’t do it. People always make a sequel when the first one really works, so if you don’t better it, there is no value for the franchise,” he said.

In January 2025, filmmaker Priyadarshan expressed his willingness to direct the third part of the comedy franchise Hera Pheri, provided the original cast members — Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal — reprise their roles from the 2000 original.

The trio had expressed their willingness to be a part of the upcoming instalment.

Hera Pheri narrates the story of two tenants — Raju (Akshay) and Shyam (Suniel) — and their landlord Babu Rao (Paresh Rawal), in desperate need of money. When the trio chance upon a ransom call via a cross connection on their landline phone, they hatch a plan to claim the ransom for themselves.

Phir Hera Pheri, a sequel to the film written and directed by Neeraj Vora, released in 2006.