Suniel Shetty says Hera Pheri is a ‘deshbhakti film’; addresses comparisons with Akshay Kumar: ‘Ticket nahi bikti hai meri films ki’

For most of us, Hera Pheri has always been the quintessential cult comedy. It has been an iconic laugh riot that defined a generation’s sense of humour. But for Suniel Shetty, the film is much more than just comedy — it’s patriotic cinema. At the trailer launch of Kesari Veer, a period action film marking the return of Sooraj Pancholi, Suniel was asked whether he and Akshay Kumar would ever come together for a patriotic film again. His response took everyone by surprise, as he said Hera Pheri. The crowd was visibly stunned, but he backed his statement with conviction.

“Arey woh deshbhakti ki film hai… jo desh ko khush rakhe… aaj ke bachon ki problem kya hai ki woh mentally khush nahi hai… Hera Pheri aap logon ke liye hai… taki aap mentally khush raho… aur kaho humare desh mein jo bhi hai woh extraordinary hai… It’s the best… hum logon ko hasate hai… khilate hai… gareebi mein haste bhi hai… aur hasate bhi hai… aur agar Babu Bhai jaisa partner mil jaye toh baat hi kya hai (It’s a patriotic film… one that keeps the country happy. The problem with today’s youth is that they’re not mentally at peace. Hera Pheri is for all of you, so you can be mentally happy… and say that whatever our country has is extraordinary… It’s the best. It makes us laugh… feeds us… even in poverty, we laugh and make others laugh. And if you find a partner like Babu Bhai, then what more do you need?)”

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Sunil, who was a leading action star of the 1990s, has had a relatively quiet run at the box office in recent years. As he now readies for the release of Kesari Veer, he reflected candidly on this lull in his career during the same event. When a journalist pointed out that Akshay Kumar has been consistently doing patriotic films and linked it to Suniel’s past statement of ‘who is going to buy such films,’ he was quick to clarify: “Main Akshay ki baat nahi kar raha tha… main meri baat kar raha tha… Akshay toh superstar hai yaar… par meri pichli films nahi chali hai… (I wasn’t talking about Akshay… I was talking about myself. Akshay is a superstar, man… but my recent films haven’t worked).”

He candidly went on to acknowledge the commercial struggles his films have faced. “Ticket nahi bikti hai meri films ki… woh dekhna zaruri hai… pyaar bohot hai logon mein… kisi kisi ko free mein dekhna chahte hai… shayad mujhe free mein dekhna chahte hai.” (Tickets for my films don’t sell… and that’s important to acknowledge. There’s a lot of love from people… some may want to watch me for free… maybe that’s what it is.)