Hera Pheri 3 is finally happening, with the original trio no less. After a lot of back and forth, Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Paresh Rawal have been confirmed to reprise their iconic roles and the shoot is set to begin later this year as per reports. While fans are thrilled to get their desired star cast, many are unhappy about the choice of the director.
As per a Times of India report, Farhad Samji – of Housefull 4 – has been roped in to direct the comedy threequel. But many fans are against the move, saying that the director does not suit the style of comedy the franchise has. A few have even started a petition to replace Samji as the director of the film, even though there has been no official announcement about his involvement so far.
A petition on the advocacy platform Change.org is titled, ‘Replace Farhad Samji as director for Phir Hera Pheri 3’. The description reads, “Clearly as the title suggests, we do not want farhad samji directing a classic film franchise such as Hera Pheri. His track record or previous films directed has not been satisfying for which the film Phir Hera Pheri needs a replacement.”
At the time of writing, the petition has garnered over a hundred signatures in just over seven hours. Elaborating upon their reason to sign the petition, one fan wrote, “I want to see a better movie, Farhad Samji is least equipped for that.” Another added, “Seeing his last directed movies I think Hera Pheri 3 needs to be directed by some well experienced director who is master in making such comedy movies like Priyadarshin sir.”
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The original Hera Pheri, released in 2000, was directed by Priyadarshan. The cult classic comedy starred Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal and Tabu, and was a hit at the box office. Its 2006 sequel – Phir Hera Pheri – was directed by Neeraj Vora, and saw the addition of Bipasha Basu and Rimi Sen to the cast while Tabu did not return. The third part was originally floated years ago with Vora returning to direct but was shelved soon. After Vora’s untimely death, the film had been in limbo till last year.
For a brief time, Akshay withdrew from the project and reports suggested Kartik Aaryan was to replace him. However, earlier this month, Akshay met his co-stars and producer Firoz Nadiadwala and came back on board. A promo was shot in Mumbai’s Film City this weekend.
