In a shocking development, actor Akshay Kumar, through his production house, Cape of Good Films, has sent a legal notice to actor Paresh Rawal claiming 25 crores in damages, for grossly unprofessional conduct and leaving the film Hera Pheri 3 in a lurch after signing a legal contract and starting shoot for the film.
Paresh recently had confirmed through the media last week that he is exiting the cult comedy. While the reason wasn’t clear, we have got to know that he did not ‘feel like’ being a part of the film for now. This has sent waves of disappointment among millions of fans of the Hera Pheri franchise.
Notably, the lead actors of the film – Akshay, Suniel Shetty and Paresh had commenced shooting for the film under veteran director Priyadarshan in April this year. Akshay is also the producer of Hera Pheri 3, after legally buying the rights for it from producer Feroz Nadiadwala.
After reports cropped up speculating the reason for his sudden departure, Rawal had clarified that creative differences or money was not the reason for his decision. Sources suggest that Rawal was being paid more than thrice his usual fee for this one.
“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,” said a source familiar with the legal proceedings in the matter.
“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,” adds the source.
Notably, this is the first time in Akshay Kumar’s 35 year long career that he has chosen to sue a fellow actor from the industry for unprofessional conduct.
Paresh, on his part, is not new to quitting films on a whim. He refused to do Oh My God 2 in 2023 claiming he did not like the script. In as early as 2009, he is said to have walked out of Shah Rukh Khan’s Billu Barber after committing to it. That film too was incidentally directed by Priyadarshan.
To fans of the Hera Pheri franchise, that has the distinction of having enjoying meme level popularity on social media, Rawal’s antics are not amusing. “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,” adds the source.