Priyadarshan helmed the 2000 original Hera Pheri, a cult-comedy classic which was a remake of the 1989 Malayalam film Ramji Rao Speaking. Priyadarshan will be reuniting with Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Suneil Shetty for Hera Pheri 3, the director announced via X on Thursday.

On the occasion of Priyadarshan’s birthday, Akshay shared a photo of himself with the director from the sets of Bhooth Bangla, a horror-comedy film the duo is shooting for. “Happy Birthday, Priyan Sir! What better way to celebrate than by spending the day on a haunted set, surrounded by ghosts…both real and unpaid extras? Thank you for being a mentor, and the only person who can make chaos look like a masterpiece. May your day be filled with fewer retakes. Wishing you a fantastic year ahead!” he captioned the picture.

Priyadarshan replied to the post thanking Akshay and also announcing Hera Pheri 3. “Thank you so much for your wishes Akshay. In return I would like to give you a gift , I’m willing to do Hera Pheri 3, are you ready Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal?” he wrote, to which Akshay replied with a meme of him shouting “Miracle, miracle”, an iconic scene from his 2007 comedy Welcome, and wrote, "Sir!!! Your birthday and I got the best gift of my life. Chalo karte hain phir thodi hera pheri (let’s do a little Hera Pheri).”

Priyadarshan helmed the 2000 original Hera Pheri, a cult-comedy classic which was a remake of the 1989 Malayalam film Ramji Rao Speaking. Hera Pheri was written by acclaimed screenwriter and actor Neeraj Vohra, who also directed the sequel Phir Hera Pheri (2006).

Neeraj passed away in 2017 and as per reports he was working on Hera Pheri 3 before his demise.