Paresh Rawal’s lawyers open up on why he left Hera Pheri 3: ‘They didn’t deliver the screenplay and agreement draft’

Paresh Rawal’s lawyers, Ameet Naik and Abhishek Kale, recently opened up about the reason why the veteran actor exited Hera Pheri 3 and said that the makers didn’t deliver the screenplay of the film along with a long form agreement draft. They have responded to the legal notice sent by Akshay Kumar’s production house, Cape of Good Films, and said that Paresh’s “termination is on strong legal footing”.

As per a report in Times of India, Paresh’s lawyers clarified that the actor had legitimate concerns for backing out from the film. Speaking about responding to Akshay’s legal team, Paresh’s lawyer, Abhishek said, “They did not deliver the story, screenplay or a draft of a long-form agreement, which was fundamental to the engagement of our client.”

The report also states that the original producer of the film, Firoz Nadiadwala had issued notices to Suniel Shetty, Akshay, Paresh and director Priyadarshan, urging them not to do any promos and endorsements related to the Hera Pheri franchise. Paresh wanted to have clarity on this before proceeding and was not comfortable with the disorganisation in the entire process.

Abhishek revealed that Paresh then decided to exit the film and return the signing amount with interest. “First, they accepted the money, but later, unfortunately, sent an untenable notice to our client when knowingly nothing was and is ready, so there can never be any loss,” Abhishek told the publication.

Paresh confirmed his exit from the third part of the popular comedy-franchise recently and said that it was not due to ‘creative differences’. After this, Akshay reportedly sued to the actor, seeking Rs 25 crore as damages. The notice claimed that Paresh had shot a promo clip for the film.

Speaking to PTI, Akshay’s lawyer said, “There were contracts entered into for the shooting of the trailer. In fact, there was some portion of about three-and-a-half minutes of the film itself that had been shot. Suddenly, a few days ago, we received a notice from Paresh ji saying that he is no longer associated with the film and doesn’t want to be associated with the film. So, it’s taken everybody by shock and surprise, of course.”

Paresh tweeted on Sunday that he has responded to Akshay and wrote, “Once they read my response, all issues will be laid to rest”.