Hera Pheri 3: Akshay Kumar sends legal notice to Paresh Rawal, seeks ₹25 crore; ‘Playing with fans' emotions’

Akshay Kumar has sent a legal notice to Paresh Rawal, demanding ₹25 crore in damages. Through his company Cape of Good Films, Akshay claims that Paresh behaved unprofessionally by quitting Hera Pheri 3 after signing a contract and starting the shoot.

Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal had started filming under director Priyadarshan in April. Akshay now owns the rights to the film, buying it from Sajid Nadiadwala.

Paresh confirmed his exit recently, saying he simply didn’t feel like doing the film. While there were reports that Babubhai left the project due to creative differences, he dismissed such issues.

“I wish to put it on record that my decision to step away from Hera Pheri 3 was not due to creative differences. I REITERATE THAT THERE ARE NO CREATIVE DISAGREEMENT WITH THE FILM MAKER . I hold immense love, respect, and faith in Mr. Priyadarshan the film director,” he wrote on Twitter (now X).

His departure has, however, upset fans of the popular comedy franchise.

Meanwhile, the actor has been accused of unprofessional behaviour. As per sources, Paresh Rawal was being paid thrice his usual remuneration for Hera Pheri 3.

Paresh is known for suddenly quitting films. In 2023, he refused to do Oh My God 2 as he didn’t like the script. Earlier, in 2009, he walked out of Shah Rukh Khan’s Billu after agreeing to it. The film also starred Irrfan.

Insider reveals details of the legal case

“Paresh displayed a blatant disregard for professional integrity or commercial morality. If he wanted to not do the film, he should have said so before signing the legal contract, accepting the signing amount and making the producer spend so much money on the shoot,” an insider told HT.

“It is high time Bollywood actors realise that like Hollywood, producers here too will no longer give in to the whims of an actor walking in and out of a film as he pleases,” as per the source.

“Paresh himself announced doing the film on his X handle in January, he participated in all pre production planning, shot for a day (including the teaser promo) willingly. When he never expressed dissatisfaction at any point, for him to now suddenly play with the emotions of the fans of this franchise and inflict losses on the producer is clearly in bad faith,” the source added.