Paresh Rawal Birthday Special: When Babu Bhaiya claimed Phir Hera Pheri had lost its innocence; ‘sorry to say…'
Last week, actor Paresh Rawal left fans in shock when he confirmed rumours about quitting Hera Pheri 3, the much awaited third instalment of the beloved comedy franchise starring him, Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty. This was followed by Akshay's production house sending Babu Bhaiya aka Paresh a legal notice, and Suniel revealing that he learnt about Paresh's decision from his children. Well, today on Paresh's 70th birthday, let's revisit his interview from earlier this year, when he shared his honest thoughts about Hera Pheri's sequel Phir Hera Pheri (2006).
In a chat with Siddharth Kannan in February this year, just days after reports about Hera Pheri 3's promo had started doing the rounds, Paresh Rawal spoke about Phir Hera Pheri. The actor, who won hearts as Baburao aka Babu Bhaiya, shared, 'Everybody was overconfident about the film. It lost its innocence. Sorry to say, but wo film nahi bani thi barabar (the film wasn't that good). I would tell Neeraj Vohra (director), tu bhar raha hai ismein (you're overstuffing this film with sequences), it isn't required. I asked him to keep the simplicity that was there in the first film. It will get messy if you overfill the film. People will laugh at anything; they will laugh if somebody is running naked, but we don't have to run naked. The sense of proportion should be on you.'
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Paresh had further added, 'If you're making a sequel just to mint money, that isn't fun. You have a character like Baburao, which has a goodwill of ₹500 crore. You put that character in another backdrop. If you only change the jokes, what's the meaning of that?'
When Paresh walked out of Hera Pheri 3, rumours cited creative differences as the reason behind it. However, the actor later clarified, '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.'
Well, on his birthday today, we are sure fans are hoping for Paresh Rawal to rethink his decision and return to screens as Babu Bhaiya. Let's see what happens!
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