The Hera Pheri franchise is among the cult comedy films of Priyadarshan in Indian cinema. While the filmmaker has confirmed the third part, it was in the news recently after Paresh Rawal reportedly exited the film. In an earlier interview, Rawal spoke about how the character in the film choked him. Priyadarshan has now reacted to his remark and shared how he was excited to do the role when it was narrated.
Priyadarshan on Paresh Rawal’s ‘choked’ remark
In a recent chat with Pinkvilla, Priyadarshan reacted to Paresh Rawal’s claims about feeling suffocated by the character. He said, “When I was making the film, I called Paresh, explained the role, and asked if he wanted to do it. He jumped for it then.”
He said, “I told him clearly that he’s the hero of the film and the other two (Akshay Kumar’s Raju and Suniel Shetty’s Shyam) are the supporting characters. He said, ‘I will put my heart and soul into it.’ He had mostly been playing villain roles till then. So, he did the character and earned it. Now he can decide where to take it.”
For the unversed, previously, in an interview with The Lallantop, Paresh called the role his “gale ka phanda (a noose around his neck).” “I felt choked. I needed mukti.”
Priyadarshan on comedy directors not getting respect
Priyadarshan also said he finds it painful that comedy directors are not respected. “I like to shoot serious films. I don’t like to shoot comedy films. I have no option, so I am doing it. But when I shoot a serious film, there’s a big issue. When you make comedy films, you are never respected as a good director. When you make a serious film, there is respect for you in the film fraternity. That is very painful to me. Why is a comedy filmmaker never accepted as a good filmmaker?” he said.
“I love making films like Kanchivaram and Kaalapaani because there I will be accepted more as a filmmaker in the film fraternity,” he added.
The filmmaker is all set to reunite with Akshay Kumar for Bhooth Bangla. It is set to hit theatres on April 10. It also stars Paresh Rawal, Asrani, Rajpal Yadav, Wamiqa Gabbi, and others. He is also set to direct Haiwaan with Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan.
