Akshay Kumar speaks up on ‘Hera Pheri 3’ controversy, Paresh Rawal’s exit

Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar, who will be next seen in the upcoming tentpole ‘Housefull 5’, has spoken up on the controversy surrounding Paresh Rawal’s exit from ‘Hera Pheri 3’.

The superstar attended the trailer launch of ‘Housefull 5’ in Mumbai on Tuesday, where he was asked to comment on the issue. It was reported that Akshay had sued Paresh for INR 25 crore after the latter announced his exit from the film over his lack of inspiration, and novelty in the character of Babu Bhaiyya, which is the central piece of the ‘Hera Pheri’ franchise.

When the media asked Akshay to comment on the matter, using the word “foolish” in the question, Akshay took offence at the word being used for such a senior actor.

He told the media, “Let me first tell you, using this kind of word, like ‘foolish’ for my co-star, I would not appreciate that. That’s not right. I have worked with him for 32 years. We are very good friends, and he is a great actor. I admire him a lot”.

The superstar also said that he would refrain from speaking too much on the film and Paresh’s exit as the matter is now subjudice.

“Jo bhi kuch hai (whatever it is), I don’t think this is a place to talk about this. Whatever has happened is a serious matter and it will be handled by the court. So I don’t think I will speak about this”, he added.

The controversy erupted when a media report claimed that Paresh Rawal had walked out of ‘Hera Pheri 3’ effectively shattering the hearts of the loyal fans of the franchise. What followed was a lawsuit by Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar to the senior actor, as the superstar not only plays one of the three leads in the film but also serves as the producer after procuring rights to the film from Firoz Nadiadwala.

Paresh went on to claim that he didn’t walk out of the film over creative differences with his long-time collaborator Priyadarshan. He said that he holds huge respect for the filmmaker in his heart. He also shared that his decision wasn’t impulsive. Rather it was well thought out as the character stopped appealing to his creative sensibilities as an artiste.

IANS