Producer Vijay Kumar on legal dispute with Firoz Nadiadwala over Hera Pheri 3: ‘Continues to delay proceedings’

TRouble continues to brewage around Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, and Suniel Shetty’s much-awaited here Pheri 3. The take has at present found itself at the centre of a sound tussle, with a South-based producer locking horns with Firoz Nadiadwala over the franchise’s copyright ownership.Amid the ongoing dispute, Vijay Kumar, who is contesting Nadiadwala’s claim to the rights, has now claimed that the producer is deliberately attempting to “delay legal proceedings”.Legal hassle for Hera Pheri franchiseRecently, in an interview with Pinkvilla, Vijay Kumar, who is fighting a battle against Firoz Nadiadwala to claim ownership of the Hera Pheri franchise, opened up about the legal battle, claiming that Nadiadwala is just delaying the whole process.“We have the total rights for Hera Pheri franchise clean and clear, everything. And guess what? This man did the second instalment without permission. After the second film, he also announced a third one. That’s when we became aware of the situation and wrote to him, but he kept avoiding us. Eventually, we had to approach the court, and the court has made it very clear that the rights are with us… We had only given a one-time remake right for the Hindi version. He made that, but then proceeded with a second film without our consent or knowledge. For whatever reason, we didn’t pursue that matter at the time, we let it go. However, when he attempted a third film, we issued a notice stating clearly that he has no rights, and even the second film was a violation,” Vijay said.Vijay added, “For the third instalment, he did not respond positively. Instead, he was trying to sell or transfer it in some way to a third party. That’s when we approached the court and filed an IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) case. He has appeared in court, but continues to delay proceedings. I am not sure what he is trying to achieve, but the court has been very clear that the rights are with us, and we are confident of getting that order as well.”When asked if he is willing to sell the rights to anyone at the moment, Vijay said that they can only consider other options once they sort things out with Nadiadwala.Back in February, the Madras High Court questioned Nadiadwala on whether his film, Hera Pheri 3, is being made at all, because a production house - Seven Arts International- has claimed that they, and not Nadiadwala, own the copyright to the Hera Pheri franchise.Seven Arts International Limited has filed a petition stating that Nadiadwala was authorised to make only one Hindi remake of the Malayalam original Ramji Rao Speaking (1989), which was released as the Priyadarshan-directed Hera Pheri in 2000.More about Hera Pheri franchiseDirected by Priyadarshan, Hera Pheri was first released in 2000, introducing audiences to the iconic trio of Baburao Ganpatrao Apte (Paresh), Raju (Akshay), and Shyam (Suniel). The film quickly became a massive hit and earned a cult following for its sharp writing and comic timing. The characters returned in the 2006 sequel Phir Hera Pheri, directed by Neeraj Vora.The third instalment of the film has been officially announced, with Akshay, Suniel, and Paresh all set to reprise their beloved characters. Recently, Paresh gave an update about the in a fun conversation with The Comedy Factory on their latest YouTube video. He shared details on the shoot of Hera Pheri 3, the controversies surrounding it and why the shoot is delayed. “All this that had blown up in between that Akshay Kumar has sued me for ₹25 crore, that is all okay yaa, it’s like kachua chaap agarbatti (too much smoke without any reason).”Speaking in Gujarati, he went on to add, “This is a technical issue between the producer and an actor (Akshay). Nothing to do with me. When these two resolve the issue, I'll just have to sign (the papers).” He also mentioned that he will start shooting the project soon.