The Franchise Imperative

It is true that a movie franchise is only as good as the characters it is identified with but what if one of them just doesn’t want to do it? Movie star Akshay Kumar is grappling with this conundrum as he sets out to produce ‘Hera Pheri 3’, whose earlier editions became superhits, but in which now Paresh Rawal has decided to back out. Rawal, who plays a character called Babu Bhaiyya, is in many ways more closely identified with Hera Pheri, at least going by the video clips and memes that float around. It is one of those rare movies in which the main leads, Akshay and Suniel Shetty, became overshadowed with time in the popular mind.

After ‘Hera Pheri 3’ was announced, even a promo was released with Rawal in it. He suddenly decided to return the signing amount of `11 lakh with 15 per cent interest. The response of Akshay, as producer, has been to enforce the contract. And unusually for Bollywood, where such dirty linen is not washed in public, his lawyer came out in public talking of “severe legal” consequences to Rawal because time and resources had been already put into it. Rawal stated on X that his lawyer would release his point of view to rest all specula­tion. His lawyer says that Rawal’s decision was because there was no clarity on what the full screenplay looked like. The movie was being made but he did not know what it was go­ing to be about. Other media reports talk of payment issues, like the full instalment only to come after the release.

It can be hard to see how, after so much public bickering, the movie gets made with the original cast. On the other hand, these are actors who have known each other for decades and the squabble is not likely a personal fallout. Professional differences are amenable to negotiation. With­out the character of Rawal, ‘Hera Pheri 3’ will just not have the same resonance. It is something Rawal, Akshay and all the fans know. Whatever Rawal needs to get back into the project might eventually be his for the taking.

Akshay KumarBollywoodcinemaHera Pheri 3Paresh Rawal