The highly anticipated comedy Hera Pheri 3 has encountered a major legal challenge after a South Indian production house moved the Madras High Court, claiming that it holds the copyright to the franchise, not producer Firoz Nadiadwala. The dispute has cast uncertainty over the future of the film, which had been eagerly awaited by fans of the iconic Bollywood comedy series.
At the centre of the controversy is Seven Arts International Limited, a company that says it purchased the full rights to the original Hera Pheri franchise from the makers of the Malayalam classic Ramji Rao Speaking. According to Seven Arts, the deal gave it exclusive ownership of the story and all related films, including future instalments. The company contends that Nadiadwala was only authorised to make one Hindi remake of the original Malayalam film, which he did with the 2000 version directed by Priyadarshan.
However, Seven Arts claims that Nadiadwala went beyond that agreement by producing the 2006 sequel Phir Hera Pheri without proper authorisation. The production house argues that Nadiadwala never held the rights to create sequels, prequels, or to use the franchise’s characters beyond the initial official remake, and that this issue was only brought to its attention much later. The dispute escalated when Nadiadwala reportedly sold rights for Hera Pheri 3 to actor Akshay Kumar’s company, Cape of Good Films, a move Seven Arts says was invalid since he did not legally own those rights to begin with.
Seven Arts Managing Director GP Vijayakumar says the original filmmakers had informed him that Nadiadwala’s rights were limited, and that he was left with no choice but to seek legal intervention to protect what he believes are his company’s rightful claims to the franchise. The production house is now asking the court to recognise its copyright and block any further use of the Hera Pheri brand without its consent.
In response, Cape of Good Films said it acquired the rights under the belief that Nadiadwala was the legitimate owner. Nadiadwala has not publicly responded to the allegations, and director Priyadarshan has said he is unaware of the legal dispute. With Hera Pheri 3 already facing delays and speculation over its release, the copyright battle adds another layer of complexity, leaving the film’s future uncertain as the court prepares to hear arguments.
