One of Bollywood’s most-cherished comedies, Hera Pheri is all set to get a third installment. And what’s even better is the fact that the comic trio of Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty and Paresh Rawal will be reuniting for the film after almost 12 years!
A source close to the film’s production revealed, “The project was locked last month after the three actors gave their dates. It will be shot in a start-to-finish schedule between December 2018 and February 2019 and will release in the second half of next year.”
The new film is expected to be directed by Indra Kumar of Masti, Dhamaal fame.
The first film in the Hera Pheri franchise, directed by Priyadarshan, released in 2000. Interestingly, it didn’t pick up initially, but the word of mouth worked in its favour and it ended up being a commercial success.
The second edition of the franchise, Phir Hera Pheri, under a new director Neeraj Vora, released in 2006, but couldn’t repeat the charisma of the original film.
However, the filmmakers had planned to reunite for a follow-up.
By 2014, Neeraj had locked the story, screenplay and dialogue. The pre-production had begun in Delhi in the summer of 2016 when Neeraj slipped into a coma in October. Firoz moved his friend into his own home and ensured that he got the best medical care available. But despite his best efforts, Neeraj passed away on December 14, 2017, after remaining comatose for over a year.
“Hera Pheri 3 will be a tribute to Neeraj’s work at the movies,” the source adds.
