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Actor Paresh Rawal broke many hearts recently when he announced that he will be stepping away from the Priyadarshan helmed Hera Pheri 3, and his beloved character of Baburao won’t be getting into all sorts of trouble along with Akshay Kumar’s Raju and Suniel Shetty’s Shyam. On his exit, it was reported that Rawal was quitting the project due to creative differences with the makers of the film, but the actor has spoken up and denied the existence of any rift or differences between him and the director.
While clarifying his stance and explaining his exit to Mid-Day, the veteran actor said, “I know it came as a shock to many. We three make a great combination with Priyadarshanji directing us, but the fact is that I opted out because today I don’t feel like a part of it.” He added that while the decision is ‘final for the time being’, one never knows what the future holds, and anything could happen in the interim.
He addressed the rumours of his disagreements with Priyadarshan and stated that there are no problems between him and the director, and there never could be. “I love Priyadarshan and have great respect and faith in him as a director. We have done wonderful movies together in the past and will continue to do so. There were no creative differences, nor is there a possibility of having any with him.” When asked whether his suggested compensation was the reason behind his exit, he said, “No amount of money compares to the love and respect of my audience. Right now, I just feel that it is a role I don’t want to do, that’s all.”
While everything between Priyadarshan and Rawal might be okay, the situation between Baburao and Raju is definitely not ‘copacetic’. In light of Rawal’s exit, Akshay Kumar made quite an aggressive move by deciding to sue his co-actor for Rs 25 crore for breach of contract and ‘gross unprofessional conduct’. Kumar, who is also producing the film, having bought the rights from Firoz Nadiadwala, is taking the lawsuit forward on behalf of his production house Cape of Good Films. Among the three main actors, Akshay seems to be the only one who hasn’t doubted the project, and both Shetty and Rawal have voiced their concerns about the film.
Before his exit, Rawal told Lallantop, “Everybody wants to cash in on sequels but do something different with the character that has Rs 500 crore worth of goodwill. Why not fly with it? But there’s mental bankruptcy or mental lethargy. I’m doing the sequel because I don’t want the film to get stuck, but there is no happiness.” On the other hand, Shetty expressed his fear of not being able to recreate the magic of the original and told Pinkvilla that. “The only fear is — can we even get remotely close to the original? So there I think… if we do things honestly, because Hera Pheri was a very honest film, and if we maintain that honesty (then) people will latch on to that film because it’s got a great recall value, so I am looking forward to it.”
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