Hera Pheri 3: From director's death to Akshay Kumar's return, how the threequel was almost cancelled and revived
Before it began shoot in this final form, Hera Pheri 3 was revived and canned numerous times
Now that it is final that Hera Pheri 3 is moving ahead with its original cast, fans can breathe a sigh of relief. The threequel has been years in the making. But it has been a long and difficult road for the film, which led to a near-cancellation after its original director died and later when Akshay Kumar withdrew. A look at the timeline of Hera Pheri 3
In early 2016, Neeraj Vora, the writer of Hera Pheri and the director of Phir Hera Pheri, came on board to direct the third part of the film. However, the original cast – Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Paresh Rawal, chose not to return.
In mid-2016, the film cast Paresh Rawal, John Abraham, and Abhishek Bachchan in lead roles and the shoot began. The film was slated to be completed and released by 2018.
In 2016, the film suffered its first setback after Abhishek Bachchan quit the film, reportedly due to differences with the director Neeraj Vora. Soon, the latter was replaced by Ahmed Khan.
In October 2016, Vora suffered a stroke that put him in a coma for the next ten months. While he wasn’t the director, he was still the film’s writer and executive producer. His subsequent death in 2017 put the film in limbo.
In May 2018, Indra Kumar was announced as the new director with the original cast - Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Paresh Rawal, returning to reprise their roles.
The film was pushed to 2020 as Indra Kumar was busy with Total Dhamaal but the pandemic hit and the shoot was delayed indefinitely. Many felt that the film was now done for good.
For many, the final nail in the coffin was in December 2022 when Akshay Kumar confirmed that he had quit Hera Pheri 3 because it wasn’t working out. Reports claimed he was being replaced by Kartik Aaryan.
After intervention from producer Firoz Nadiadwala and Suniel Shetty, Akshay Kumar was brought back on board and in February 2023, the trio shot a promo for the film. Farhad Samji has reportedly been roped in as the director and the film will go on floors this year.