Hera Pheri is widely considered one of the most popular comedy movies ever made in Bollywood. Directed by Priyadarshan, this film released in 2000 featured an ensemble star cast that includes Akshay Kumar, Suneil Shetty, Paresh Rawal, and Tabu. The film was produced by AG Nadiadwala, and the success of the film resulted in a sequel named Hera Pheri 2, directed by Neeraj Vora. And now, after 21 years of the movie's release, Firoz Nadiadwala, son of AG Nadiadwala has made serious allegations against director Priyadarshan.
Priyadarshan's Hera Pheri was depressing
Firoz claimed that Priyadarshan abandoned Hera Pheri midway during the post-production process. He also added that the director handed over a nearly four-hour-long cut which was loaded with depressing scenes. The producer also alleged that the original movie shot by Priyadarshan was not a comedy flick, instead, it was a film about an economically challenged family.
"He gave me a film with a runtime of three hours and 40 minutes. His version was full of depressing scenes; a lot of the humorous dialogues were deleted. He was absent during the background music recording and dubbing," Nadiadwala told Mid-Day.
Nadiadwala claimed that he successfully made the released version with the cooperation of the cast and late writer-director Neeraj Vohra.
"Neeraj added a lot of punchlines. We deleted the sad scenes. We did a lot of improvisations during the dubbing and editing to make it what the audience knows it by today," added Nadiadwala.
Priyadarshan is yet to respond to the allegations made by Firoz Nadiadwala. Recently, in an interview with Mid Day, Priyadarshan had revealed that he refused to be a part of Hera Pheri 2. The national-award-winning filmmaker also noted that he did not want to make Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2.
Priyadarshan awaiting release of Marakkar: Arabikkadalinte Simham
Priyadarshan is currently awaiting the release of his new Mollywood movie Marakkar: Arabikkadalinte Simham starring Mohanlal in the lead role. The film was originally scheduled to release last year, but it was postponed multiple times due to the Covid pandemic.
As theaters in Kerala still remain closed, it is still unclear when the movie will be released. Considering its lavish budget, it is highly unlikely that the makers of the film will go for an OTT release.
Note for readers: This news story is based on allegations by one party. The other party has not been represented here. Readers should not lose sight of that.
