The infamous 'Hera Pheri' clash
One of the most famous Bollywood films, Hera Pheri, starred an ensemble cast. The first Hera Pheri, directed by Priyadarshan and co-starring Akshay Kumar, Tabu and Paresh Rawal, became a cult hit in 2000. Phir Hera Pheri was released in 2006, directed by Neeraj Vora. Its third installment was announced a couple of years ago.
However, in a recent interview, its producer Firoz A Nadiadwala has made some startling revelations about a noticeable squabble between him and the director. The producer claimed that Priyadarshan had left Hera Pheri incomplete, leading to a lot of stress.
Bombay Times reached out to the producer and the director who shared their respective versions. Nadiadwala claimed, “Priyadarshan shot a three-hour 40 minutes long film. He handed over the copy to us and he left. He was not there for the editing, background score, or for the final mix.”
The ace producer also alleged, “He was also not there for the dubbing, photo sessions, planning the publicity, or making the trailers. I sat for the edit with the late Neeraj Vora and the rest of the team. We cut down the film by one hour and 30 minutes. Today, when I look back, I am just thankful to Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Neeraj Vora, and Ahmed Khan (choreographer) because of whom we could complete the film.”
Reacting to Nadiadwala’s allegations, Priyadarshan says, “How could I make a film as long as three hours and 40 minutes? It is a remake of a Malayalam film, and so, I knew what I was making. All these claims are false. The whole film was made in Chennai. It was mixed in my theatre. I completed the film and I gave the final copy to him.”
Nadiadwala also claims that Priyadarshan had kept him in the dark about selling the Hindi remake rights to another filmmaker in Punjab. “Literally 10 days before the film’s release, we got to know that a filmmaker from Punjab had the rights to the film. I rushed to Chandigarh for the settlement. I had to pay him whatever he demanded. I have proof of all this,” says the producer.
However, Priyadarshan rebutted this claim as well.
“How can I sell the rights, when I never had them? It is the original writers of the Malayalam film (Siddique and Lal, also the directors of that film) who sold it. It was not written by me. It was written by Siddique, the one who directed Bodyguard starring Salman Khan. They sold the rights to someone else. Then, we started the film (Hera Pheri) and we were supposed to buy the rights from them for INR500,000."
According to Nadiadwala, Priyadarshan also tried to convince the actors of the film to refrain from being a part of the film’s sequels.
He elaborated saying, “When we were shooting for Phir Hera Pheri’s Aye Meri Zohrajabeen song at Filmistan, Priyadarshan landed on the sets. He started making fun of me in front of the cast and crew. He started taunting me by saying, ‘Don’t listen to Firoz, he is going to spoil everybody’s reputation.’ The camera has captured him on the set. At the beginning of the song, one can notice him in the background."
Nadiadwala further added, "All these years, I kept quiet out of respect, but everything has a limit. I was fed up with his claims that he has turned down offers to direct the sequels. Even during his recent media interactions, he mentioned that. He gave me such a hard time during the making of the Hera Pheri, why would I approach him for a sequel?”
In his defense, Priyadarshan added, “Yes, he never approached me for the sequels. When Neeraj Vora was approached to direct Phir Hera Pheri, he was working with me for a film. He asked me if I wanted to direct the film. I said, no. He asked me if it was okay if he directed it, and I said that I have no problem at all. What do I do when the media asks me if I am directing the sequel of the film? I don’t know why this upsets Firoz. I have nothing against him."
Priyadarshan elaborated on his reasons for not directing the sequels. "See, I personally didn’t want to direct Phir Hera Pheri. And this has been my answer to whoever asked me this question. Part 1 was the remake of a Malayalam film. I wasn’t sure where the story of the sequel will lead. So, I didn’t want to do it. In fact, when I had met Neeraj Vora, I frankly told him that he didn’t do a great job with Phir Hera Pheri. The film had become a brand and so it worked. He accepted it."
About Hera Pheri 3, Priyadarshan said, “Suniel Shetty, who is like family to me, suggested that I should consider doing the film. So, we met Akshay Kumar, too, and I felt like giving it a nod. In fact, Firoz and I were supposed to meet as well, but that never happened. Then I heard that they had roped in Abhishek Bachchan and then finally, the film didn’t get made. I share a cordial relation with everyone, why will I ask anyone to not do the film? I continued to work with Akshay, Suniel, and Paresh on other projects. I have also met Firoz and we have had cordial talks before. I have nothing against anyone."
Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.