The third film in the hit comedy movie series "Hera Pheri" was expected to go into production soon. However, Akshay Kumar has shared that it's not happening anytime soon.
In an interview with YouTuber Shubhankar Mishra, the actor, who, despite his closeness to the project, is surprised that the third part is getting delayed and put on pause for at least a year. The "Bhooth Bhangla" actor cited legal complications and rights issues as the reasons.
The major legal hurdle reportedly involves a conflict over the franchise's copyright ownership between producer Firoz Nadiadwala and a South Indian producer.
While the original trio—Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Paresh Rawal—were set to reunite, recent reports of Paresh Rawal exiting and then returning to the project added to the uncertainty.
Akshay Kumar hopes that the project happens before all three actors get "too old".
Director Priyadarshan, who helmed the first film and with whom Akshay Kumar enjoys a long and fruitful collaboration, was expected to return with writer Rohan Shankar's name attached. However, the latter revealed that he is no longer associated with the project due to the ongoing legal issues.
A remake of the Malayalam comedy classic "Ramji Rao Speaking", written and directed by the Siddique-Lal duo, "Hera Pheri" was kick-started with Priyadarshan directing the first Hindi version in 2000. It was followed by "Phir Hera Pheri" in 2006, directed by Neeraj Vora.
Meanwhile, "Bhooth Bangla" has opened with solid figures at the box office. The horror-comedy opened with net earnings of Rs 16 crore (Day 1 gross plus the Thursday preview show earnings of Rs 3.50 crore), with a domestic gross of Rs 19 crore as of April 18, 2026. Worldwide, it has earned Rs 28 crore.
