Hera Pheri revisitied, two decades later

With the cult classic film Hera Pheri completing 20 years after its release in March 2000, the buzz about a series revival is stronger than ever before. Starring Paresh Rawal as Baburao with Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty as Raju and Shyam, the film got two action heroes into comic roles, doing everything unheroic on screen and yet managing to entertain the audience.

“I cannot fathom the kind of response I still get about the film,” reminisces Suniel Shetty, who confirms that a remake is in the works. “The film is happening for sure. I won’t know when,” he had told us recently.

“The first part had both of us, action heroes, doing comedy for the first time. We were shooting for the film in Chennai and we wrapped the film in a single location in a lockdown kind of situation —that is how director Priyadarshan works,” the actor further reveals.

If one recalls, the second part never came close to being as funny as the original as most of the actors in the film tried to get loud and get the plaudits that only Baburao got in the film.

Producer Firoz Nadiadwala — who last made Welcome Back — was last speaking to both Priyadarshan as well as Ahmed Khan to see who could direct the third part. Priyadarshan had directed the first part while Neeraj Vora directed the second part. Neeraj was to direct the third part of the film, but he expired. Earlier in 2015, they had planned the film with a partial change in cast with Dostana duo John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan stepping in along with Suniel playing Ghanshyam, and Paresh retaining his Baburao slot. However, that did not happen.