Legal Trouble Resurfaces for Bollywood’s Much-Awaited *Hera Pheri 3*

Mumbai — Bollywood’s popular comedy franchise *Hera Pheri 3* has once again landed in legal trouble, casting uncertainty over one of the most anticipated projects in Indian cinema.

Earlier, reports had suggested that superstar Akshay Kumar purchased the rights from producer Firoz Nadiadwala and initiated plans to move forward with *Hera Pheri 3*. However, South Indian production house Seven Arts International Limited has now approached the court, claiming that it holds the original rights to the *Hera Pheri* franchise — not Nadiadwala or Akshay Kumar.

According to Indian media, Seven Arts International Managing Director G. P. Vijay Kumar stated that his company acquired the complete rights of the franchise from the original rights holders — the producers of the 1989 Malayalam film *Ramji Rao Speaking*, on which *Hera Pheri* was based.

Vijay Kumar claimed that Nadiadwala was only granted permission to make the Hindi remake of the first film, but allegedly violated the agreement by producing the sequel *Phir Hera Pheri* in 2006. He further revealed that in 2022, Seven Arts International purchased all franchise rights from Aditya Films.

According to Vijay Kumar, the original producers had clearly stated that Firoz Nadiadwala neither had the right to make sequels nor to reuse the characters. He said that when Seven Arts later planned to make a new Hindi version and contacted Akshay Kumar, they discovered that Nadiadwala had already sold the same rights to Akshay Kumar’s production house, Cape of Good Films. This prompted them to issue a legal notice and file a case in court.

Raising questions over the transaction, Vijay Kumar asked how someone could sell rights they did not legally own.

Meanwhile, filmmaker Priyadarshan, who is reportedly attached to direct the film, said he was unaware of any such legal proceedings. Akshay Kumar’s production team responded by stating that they purchased the rights under the belief that Firoz Nadiadwala was the lawful owner.

So far, no official statement has been issued by Firoz Nadiadwala, and Indian media reports that repeated attempts to contact him have been unsuccessful.

*Hera Pheri 3*, featuring the iconic trio of Raju, Shyam, and Baburao — played by Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Paresh Rawal — remains one of Bollywood’s most eagerly awaited films. The project had previously stalled last year after Paresh Rawal temporarily stepped away, though he later rejoined after resolving issues with the filmmakers.