Paresh Rawal reveals Hera Pheri trio will go global for third film, shoot will begin in 3 months

The actor also confirmed that Kartik Aaryan, who was supposed to join the franchise, won’t be part of the film. Paresh, Akshay Kumar and Suniel first played the characters of Babu, Raju and Shyam in 2000. Directed by Priyadarshan, the Hindi feature was a remake of the Malayalam film Ramji Rao Speaking (1989). Tabu and Om Puri were also part of the original cast; a sequel, Phir Hera Pheri, written and directed by Neeraj Vora came out in 2006.

Speaking about reuniting with Akshay and Suniel Shetty, Paresh told Mid-Day in an interview, “Meeting them felt like ghar wapsi (returning home). It’s always a joy shooting with Akshay and Suniel. They are talented actors who are not insecure about their work. We have mutual respect. Our off-screen camaraderie reflects in our on-screen chemistry.”

He added, “We’ll begin shooting in three months. It will be a [long] schedule in Mumbai. The movie will also be shot in international locations like Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Los Angeles, as Babu bhaiyya, Raju and Shyam go abroad. They’ll do hera pheri globally.” The veteran actor also went on to say that initially, “both Kartik and Akshay were to do the film, but it didn’t work out. I don’t know what happened.”

Paresh had won the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role for Hera Pheri in 2001 for his role as Baburao Ganpatrao Apte. Actors Bipasha Basu, Rimi Sen, Johnny Lever and Rajpal Yadav had come on board for the second film.

Neeraj was supposed to direct the third film as well, but he died in 2017. Since then production on the film had stalled as the producers tried to find a suitable director for the franchise.