Just when Hera Pheri 3 seemed to be inching back into conversation, Priyadarshan has delivered the bleakest update yet. Days after his exit from the Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Paresh Rawal starrer came to light, the filmmaker has now said he believes the long delayed comedy may never reach theatres at all.
The latest turn followed producer Firoz Nadiadwala‘s clarification that Priyadarshan was no longer attached to the film, a development that quickly sharpened attention on what had gone wrong behind the scenes. Priyadarshan had earlier told Hindustan Times, “To the best of my knowledge, Hera Pheri 3 will never hit the screen due to lots of legal issues and personal conflicts. Whether I am involved or not is unimportant.”
Priyadarshan Details His Fallout Over Hera Pheri 3
That earlier warning has now been followed by a far more personal account. In a fresh interview, Priyadarshan spoke at length about his fallout with Nadiadwala and the tensions he says pushed him out of the franchise. He said, “Firoz told Akshay, ‘You have the rights to make Hera Pheri 3, but never make it with Priyadarshan. That’s my only request.’ He has insulted me so many times. He told me that my cut of Hera Pheri[2000] looked like a poor man’s version, that he had to edit my five-hour movie. I initially agreed to do the third part with Akshay because I thought I could make one of this country’s biggest franchises. If I had directed it, I could’ve made it bigger than Dhurandhar. Akshay, Suniel, and Paresh requested me to make Hera Pheri 3. When I narrated the story to them, they were all excited.”
He also described the legal complications that, according to him, have shadowed the project for years. Priyadarshan said, “When Hera Pheri 3 was announced, I got a call from Seven Arts Films’ GP Vijayakumar that if we ever do the film, it will be a violation. I didn’t know what to do. This is why I said that Hera Pheri 3 may never see the screens with the same characters. You will never see them again as it has too many legal issues. According to me, Hera Pheri[2000] was born, Hera Pheri 2[2006] became sick, and Hera Pheri 3 will be dead.”
Taken together, those remarks paint a grim picture of a franchise weighed down by bruised equations and unresolved rights concerns. For a film built on the chemistry of its original trio, Priyadarshan’s latest comments make the impasse look deeper than a routine production delay.
Priyadarshan’s Recent And Upcoming Work
What makes the breakdown even more striking is that Priyadarshan’s creative partnership with Akshay Kumar is still very much active outside Hera Pheri 3. Their next confirmed collaboration is Bhooth Bangla, scheduled for 2026 and also starring Tabu, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Jisshu Sengupta. Priyadarshan is also directing Haiwaan, another confirmed 2026 release starring Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan.
That irony sits at the heart of this latest Hera Pheri 3 chapter. Even as Priyadarshan and Akshay continue to work together on major films, one of their most iconic collaborations appears to have collapsed under legal friction and a fractured equation with the producer.
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