What followed was a lawsuit filed by Akshay, who is also the producer on the project through his company Cape of Good Films.
Rawal has now joined back the movie, an announcement he made during his recent appearance on a podcast.
“Pehle bhi aane hi waali thi (it was supposed to come before also), but it’s just that we had to fine-tune ourselves. After all, all of them are creative, be it Priyadarshan, Akshay or Suniel. They are friends for many, many, many years,” Rawal said on Himanshu Mehta’s podcast.
The veteran actor also said there is no “controversy”, referring to Akshay’s lawsuit, which sought Rs 25 crore in damages.
“I believe that when people have loved something so much, then you have to be extra careful. It is our responsibility toward the audience. The audience has given you so much adulation.
“You can’t take things for granted. Mehnat karke unko (film) do. So, I was of the opinion that sab saath mein aaye, mehnat kare (everyone should come together and work hard). Aur kuch nahin (Nothing else). It is all resolved now,” he added.
Directed by Priyadarshan, “Hera Pheri” released in 2000 and revolved around a quirky, kind-hearted garage owner Baburao Ganpatrao Apte (Rawal), a cunning loafer Raju (Kumar) and a struggling pauper Shyam (Shetty).
The trio returned with a sequel “Phir Hera Pheri” in 2006, which was directed by Neeraj Vora. PTI RB RB