All is well that ends well, and the two-month controversy surrounding Paresh Rawal’s exit from Hera Pheri 3 has certainly ended on a happy note. On June 28, the veteran actor revealed that he has returned to the franchise’s third instalment that also stars Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty. So, how did the change of heart happen? Especially when things had turned intense, with Kumar — who also serves as the producer — reportedly suing the senior actor for Rs 25 crore for his “unprofessional conduct”, and the latter returning the signing amount along with interest. Apparently, all it took was an honest chat over a phone call.

An insider reveals that Kumar called the veteran actor on his birthday, on May 30. “Paresh’s stance initially softened when Akshay firmly defended him at the Housefull 5 trailer launch, where a journalist called the senior actor ‘foolish’ for leaving Hera Pheri 3. Then on Paresh’s birthday, Akshay called to wish him. The superstar told him that while movies will come and go, their friendship should withstand the test of time as they go back a long way. After that, the two met along with Suniel,” says the insider.

Fans are naturally cheering Rawal aka Babu Bhaiyya’s return to Hera Pheri 3, as is director Priyadarshan. The filmmaker tells mid-day that he was given the good news by the veteran actor on June 30.

“Both Akshay and Paresh called to say that everything is sorted. I was in shock when Paresh said, ‘Sir, I’m doing the movie’. He added, ‘I have never had anything except a lot of respect for you. I’ve done 26 movies with you, and I’m sorry to have left the film. There were some personal issues.’ He said that Akshay, Suniel, and he met cordially and sorted it out.”

While rumours suggested that filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala and director Ahmed Khan had a role to play in the patch-up, Priyadarshan denies it.

Now, the National Award- winning filmmaker will sit down to pen the script of the laugh riot. “Whatever I do, I cannot surpass Hera Pheri [2000]. The second part [Phir Hera Pheri, 2006] was bad; it was a copy of a Hollywood movie,” he states, adding that while writing, he is certain of one thing. 

“Hera Pheri cannot happen without any of the three lead characters. Recently, on a flight, a diamond merchant and his family came to me and requested me to bring Paresh back. They said they won’t watch the film otherwise.”

Over the years, the comedy, Hera Pheri (2000), directed by Priyadarshan has gone on to become a cult classic. The film starring Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, and Tabu, produced by Firoz A Nadiadwala, was the remake of the Malayalam film, Ramji Rao Speaking (1989). When the Hindi film was released in the year 2000, the characters of the film Baburao (Paresh), Raju (Akshay), and Shyam (Suniel) became hugely popular, and some of the dialogues and scenes from the film remain unforgettable even to date. In 2006, a sequel was made, titled Phir Hera Pheri, directed by the late Neeraj Vora (who wrote the screenplay and dialogues of Hera Pheri) and was backed by Nadiadwala. In the year 2015, Hera Pheri 3 was announced by Nadiadwala, with Paresh Rawal, John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan. The film went on floors briefly in June 2015, after which, it made little progress. Post that, Neeraj Vora’s health took a beating, and he subsequently, passed away. News about Hera Pheri 3 being in the planning stages surfaced again when Paresh Rawal and Priyadarshan were promoting a film last month.

While fans of the franchise have always been excited about another film in the series, in a recent interview, Nadiadwala made some startling revelations related to Hera Pheri. The producer claimed that Priyadarshan had left Hera Pheri incomplete, leading to a lot of stress. Bombay Times reached out to the producer and the director who shared their respective versions. Nadiadwala claims, “Priyan shot a three-hour 40 minutes long film. Usne copy hamare haath pakdadi, and he left. He was not there for the editing, background score, or for the final mix.”

Firoz says, “He was also not there for the dubbing, photo sessions, planning the publicity, or making the trailers. I sat for the edit with the late Neeraj Vora and the rest of the team. We cut down the film by one hour and 30 minutes. Today, when I look back, I am just thankful to Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Neeraj Vora, and Ahmed Khan (choreographer) because of whom we could complete the film.”

Reacting to Nadiadwala’s allegations, Priyadarshan says, “How could I make a film as long as three hours and 40 minutes? It is a remake of a Malayalam film, and so, I knew what I was making. All these claims are false. The whole film was made in Chennai. It was mixed in my theatre. I completed the film and I gave the final copy to him.”

Nadiadwala also claims that Priyadarshan had kept him in the dark about selling the Hindi remake rights to another filmmaker in Punjab. “Literally 10 days before the film’s release, we got to know that a filmmaker from Punjab had the rights to the film. I rushed to Chandigarh for the settlement. I had to pay him whatever he demanded. I have proof of all this,” says the producer.

Rubbishing these claims, Priyan says, “How can I sell the rights, when I never had them? It is the original writers of the Malayalam film (Siddique and Lal, also the directors of that film) who sold it. It was not written by me. It was written by Siddique, the one who directed Bodyguard starring Salman Khan. They sold the rights to someone else. Then, we started the film (Hera Pheri) and we were supposed to buy the rights from them for Rs. 5 lakhs.”

According to Nadiadwala, Priyan also tried to convince the actors of the film to refrain from being a part of the film’s sequels. He elaborates saying, “When we were shooting for Phir Hera Pheri’s Aye Meri Zohrajabeen song at Filmistan, Priyan landed on the sets. He started making fun of me in front of the cast and crew. He started taunting me by saying, ‘Don’t listen to Firoz, he is going to spoil everybody’s reputation.’ The camera has captured him on the set. At the beginning of the song, one can notice him in the background. All these years, I kept quiet out of respect, but everything has a limit. I was fed up with his claims that he has turned down offers to direct the sequels. Even during his recent media interactions, he mentioned that. He gave me such a hard time during the making of the Hera Pheri, why would I approach him for a sequel?”

In his defense, Priyan adds, “Yes, he never approached me for the sequels. When Neeraj Vora was approached to direct Phir Hera Pheri, he was working with me for a film. He asked me if I wanted to direct the film. I said, no. He asked me if it was okay if he directed it, and I said that I have no problem at all. What do I do when the media asks me if I am directing the sequel of the film? I don’t know why this upsets Firoz. I have nothing against him. See, I personally didn’t want to direct Phir Hera Pheri. And this has been my answer to whoever asked me this question. Part 1 was the remake of a Malayalam film. I wasn’t sure where the story of the sequel will lead. So, I didn’t want to do it. In fact, when I had met Neeraj Vora, I frankly told him that he didn’t do a great job with Phir Hera Pheri. The film had become a brand and so it worked. He accepted it. He even told me that they had drawn inspiration from a few films and joined it all together because they didn’t know how to take the story forward. I shared a great rapport with Neeraj and after that film, too, Neeraj and I did 2-3 films together (Tezz, Khatta Meetha and Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal).”

About Hera Pheri 3, Priyan says, “Suniel Shetty, who is like family to me, suggested that I should consider doing the film. So, we met Akshay Kumar, too, and I felt like giving it a nod. In fact, Firoz and I were supposed to meet as well, but that never happened. Then I heard that they had roped in Abhishek Bachchan and then finally, the film didn’t get made. I share a cordial relation with everyone, why will I ask anyone to not do the film? I continued to work with Akshay, Suniel, and Paresh on other projects. I have also met Firoz and we have had cordial talks before. I have nothing against anyone. During my latest film promotions when the media asked me if I was directing Hera Pheri 3, I said that I am not interested in directing it. I personally don’t believe I will be able to do justice to the sequel, so why will I even consider it? It is as simple as that! I don’t know what has irked Firoz. Maybe it is his anger and frustration at being unable to make Hera Pheri 3.”

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Filmmaker Priyadarshan has strongly denied allegations of him abandoning his film Hera Pheri midway and trying to bungle the plans for a sequel. He said he has no influence in Bollywood to even think of concocting such a conspiracy.

Recently, producer Firoz Nadiadwala made several claims against the director; from leaving the 2000 film midway to making a depressing version to try and convince the actors to say no to the sequel. “I’ve nothing against anyone. The so-called incident happened 20 years ago. Why are you talking about it now? And why should I say I didn’t do this or that,” the director shares, further adding, “I did that movie and went on to do many more films. I’m sitting on the 95th film of my career. If I had such behaviour, I wouldn’t have been in the industry.”

Talking about whether he convinced actors to not do the sequel, the 64-year-old asks if that would have been the case, then how have the makers made part two with the same actors? “And I have also worked with these actors after that movie. How can that be possible? I’m a small south Indian filmmaker, I don’t have any influence in Bollywood,” he reasoned. To the claim of making a depressing version, Priyadarshan reminds us that the film starring Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal, was a remake of the Malayalam film, Ramji Rao Speaking (1989). “It was made frame by frame. It can’t be that I made a depressing or overly long version. The original was a super duper hit, and that’s why a Hindi remake was made in the first place.”