Neeraj Vohra's plans to reunite Dostana duo John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan for the third instalment of Hera Pheri went for a toss when the former bowed out of the film to wrap up Rohit Dhawan's upcoming action-adventure, Dishoom, bringing shooting to a halt three months after it went on the floors in Dubai last June.

Then, a source close to the development informed Mirror, Abhishek who was to play Raju Khabri (portrayed by Akshay Kumar in the preceding films) walked out in December, sending Vohra to his producer, Firoz Nadiadwala, for help. At a press conference recently, Abhishek announced, “I am not going to be doing that film anymore. It just didn't work out.“

Now, Mirror has learnt that the film has finally got its principle characters in place with the original cast ­ Suniel Shetty as Ghanshyam, Akshay Kumar as Raju and Paresh Rawal as Baburao Ganpatrao Apte ­ reuniting for a third time. “Akshay and Suniel had always been keen to do the film. Everyone hopes the franchise will be back with a bang. It was to release in August this year but now has been pushed ahead to 2017,“ adds the source. Akshay and Suniel have also shared screen space in the 1994 hits, Hum Hain Bemisaal and Mohra, in Dharmesh Darshan's 2000 love story Dhadkan and ensemble comedies including De Dana Dan, Awara Pagal Deewana and Deewane Huye Paagal.

While the original film, directed by Priyadarshan, featured Tabu in the female lead, the sequel, helmed by Neeraj Vohra, had Bipasha Basu and Rimi Sen. “Casting for the female leads for the third is underway,“ the source reveals.

When contacted Firoz Nadiadwala informed, “We are still finalising the details. In a month's time we will know the exact cast and unit of the film and will make an official announcement. Everyone is excited about the film.“