Hera Pheri 3: Was Akshay Kumar supposed to join Kartik Aaryan, Suneil Shetty and Paresh Rawal in previous version of comedy caper? KNOW TRUTH

Paresh Rawal recently clarified his comment about Kartik Aaryan being onboard for Hera Pheri 3. Read on to know what he shared.

By Krishma Sharma

Updated on Feb 23, 2025 | 01:28 PM IST | 16.2K

Pic Courtesy: Kartik Aaryan/ Akshay Kumar Instagram and Phir Hera Pheri IMDb

Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Suniel Shetty starrer Phir Hera Pheri 3 is among the highly-awaited sequels of Bollywood. Meanwhile, nearly 3 years back, The Storyteller actor confirmed Kartik Aaryan being a part of the franchise that had stirred the internet. Most recently, the veteran actor clarified that it was for some other story and Akshay was supposed to join them.

While speaking with Siddharth Kannan, Paresh Rawal reflecting on his old comment, revealed that Kartik Aaryan was already signed for the previous version of Hera Pheri 3. However, the story is now different and is being directed by Priyadarshan.

He said, "vo kahani alag thi tabhi, isko Raju samjh kar pakad kar laaye the, ye alag hi kirdar tha, kahani ye thi, mere ko jitna pata hai, poori kahani to maine nahin suni thi (That was a different story then, and he was brought for the role of Raju, but it was a different character. This was the story as much as I know. I hadn’t listened to the entire script)."

The Hera Pheri 3 actor clarified that Kartik’s role was not of Raju and Akshay Kumar was supposed to join them.

"Kahani alag ho gayi, abhi Priyadarshan aa rahe hain (It’s a different story now and Priyadarshan has joined)," he noted.

For the unversed, back in 2022, a fan on X asked the veteran actor, "Paresh Rawal sir, is it true that Kartik Aaryan is doing Hera Pheri 3?" To this, he had replied, "Yes it's true."

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In the same interview, the OMG actor also shared a major update about the film’s shooting schedule, mentioning that they’re expected to begin the shoot by August or September 2025 but not before that.

Notably, earlier this year in January replying to Akshay Kumar’s special birthday wish, Priyadarshan had officially announced Hera Pheri 3. “Thank you so much for your wishes, Akshay. In return, I would like to give you a gift, I am willing to do Hera Pheri 3, are you ready, Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Paresh Rawal?," he had written.