Hera Pheri  3 Rights Controversy: South Producer Accuses Firoz Nadiadwala Of 'Delaying Legal Proceedings'

Hera Pheri 3, one of the highly anticipated upcoming films starring Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, and Suniel Shetty, is currently on the back burner as it has been embroiled in legal trouble due to a copyright issue. A producer from South moved the Madras High Court against Firoz Nadiadwala, claiming he owns the copyright to the franchise, not Nadiadwala. A copyright infringement suit was filed against Nadiadwala.

Producer Vijay Kumar, who is fighting the copyright infringement battle against Firoz Nadiadwala, in an interview, claimed that the latter is trying to “delay legal proceedings”.

Hera Pheri 3 franchise legal battle

In an interview with Pinkvilla, Vijay Kumar clearly stated that they have total rights for Hera Pheri franchise and claimed Nadiadwala did the second instalment without permission and after the second film, he also announced a third one. That’s when they became aware of the situation and wrote to him, but he kept avoiding them, leading them to approach the court, which made it clear that the rights are with them.

“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 added.

The producer continued, “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.”

Vijay Kumar also added that Nadiadwala has appeared in court, but he “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,” he added.

Earlier, Priyadarshan told ETimes that there are several complications surrounding Hera Pheri 3 and clarified that it would not go on floors this year.