Actor Suniel Shetty has said that the Hera Pheri team is aware of the audience’s interest for a third instalment, but certain ‘differences’ need to be ironed out first. Talk about a Hera Pheri sequel has been on for several years.
He told Mumbai Mirror in an interview, “Everything is on hold for now. The film’s team intends to make Hera Pheri 3, but some differences need to be ironed out. The film is a big hit on television as well as in the meme world and we are all aware of the anticipation among the audience for the film.”
The first film, directed by Priyadarshan and co-starring Akshay Kumar, Tabu and Paresh Rawal, became a cult hit in 2000. The second instalment, Phir Hera Pheri, was released in 2006, and was directed by Neeraj Vora. In Hera Pheri, Suniel and Akshay played Shyam and Raju, tenants at the Mumbai home of Babu Bhaiyya, played by Paresh. The three devise a plan of earning a quick buck off a child’s kidnapping but things don’t always work in their favour.
On the first film’s 20th anniversary recently, Suniel recalled in an interview to IMDb that several factors aligned in order for the film to become what it did. “I don’t know how the film was made, it just happened,” he said. “We arrived on the sets every morning, the costumes were basically just stretched and given to us, not even ironed. The director would ask us to sleep in the afternoon on paper, so we used to sleep on newspapers. He (Priyadarshan) said I don’t want you to be comfortable. When you get up, you should have rested, but stay uncomfortable. So, we wore no makeup, nothing. Akshay Kumar, me and Paresh ji were constantly together, constantly rehearsing our lines, constantly improvising and Priyan sir is one man who knows when to say cut.”
Filmmaker Indra Kumar had confirmed the project earlier this year, after completing work on Total Dhamaal. He had teased that Hera Pheri 3 would involve heavy VFX. “I’m happy that the favourite trio is coming back together. We start the film towards the end of this year. It’s currently being scripted. I was completely cut off from that project for the last three months because I was busy with Total Dhamaal,” he told DNA, and added, “So, it will definitely be bigger and better and involve heavy VFX. I’m expecting people to enjoy the film as much.”
