Akshay Kumar to return in Hera Pheri 3 with Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal?

Last month, after Paresh Rawal confirmed that Kartik Aaryan will be a part of Hera Pheri 3, Akshay Kumar revealed that he has backed out of the comedy franchise as he was not satisfied with the script. Now, as per the latest reports, the Khiladi actor could be back as Raju in the threequel as the producer Firoz Nadiadwala has reportedly gone back to Akshay to get him back in the film.

A source was quoted telling Pinkvilla, "While everything was on paper with regard to the casting of Hera Pheri 3 with Kartik Aaryan, the tides are now changing again. Over the last 10 days, Firoz has met Akshay Kumar a couple of times to sort out all the differences and get him back to the loved franchise. He realizes how iconic the character is and also acknowledges that the credit to make the character scale new heights goes to the way in which Akshay enacted the part."

Earlier, there were rumours that the producers turned to Kartik Aaryan to replace Akshay as the latter demanded a huge fee. The same source was quoted telling the portal that finances were never the issue. "Akshay knows how big a franchise is and didn’t want to take things for granted just to capitalize on the brand name. But now, he and Firoz will sit down and decide on all the aspects of Hera Pheri 3. If everything goes well, Akshay could be back as Raju in Hera Pheri 3", the source concluded.

READ | Akshay Kumar reveals why he is not doing Hera Pheri 3 after Paresh Rawal confirmed Kartik Aaryan in the film

Directed by Priyadarshan, Hera Pheri was released in 2000 and was the Hindi remake of the Malayalam superhit Ramji Rao Speaking, while the sequel Phir Hera Pheri, released in 2006 and helmed by Neeraj Vora, was inspired from the Hollywood classic  Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.