As per authentic reporting from the Bollywood markets, one of the top Bollywood Stars, Akshay Kumar has sued his forthcoming production ‘Hera Pheri 3’s Co-Star Paresh Rawal. It is for Rs 25 crore as damages after Rawal left the film midway.

This is the first time in Akshay Kumar’s 35-year career that he has taken legal action against any of his fellow actors.

In a surprising turn of event, Akshay Kumar has reportedly filed a Rs 25 crore lawsuit against his long-time co-star Paresh Rawal, owing to his abrupt exit from Hera Pheri 3.

Akshay believes this caused major setbacks to the production. The lawsuit seeks damages for what is being seen as a case of professional sabotage.

The news dropped just days after Paresh Rawal publicly confirmed via X (formerly Twitter) that he was no longer part of the film. But he was quick to shut down rumors of conflict behind the scenes.

“I wish to put it on record that my decision to step away from Hera Pheri 3 was not due to creative differences. I REITERATE THAT THERE ARE NO CREATIVE DISAGREEMENT WITH THE FILM MAKER. I hold immense love, respect, and faith in Mr. Priyadarshan the film director,” Rawal wrote in his post on May 18.

This clarification, however, doesn’t seem to have helped the situation. According to sources close to the production, Rawal had not only agreed to do the film earlier this year but was also paid three times his usual fee. He had reportedly taken part in pre-production discussions, shot a day’s worth of material, and even featured in the teaser promo—all without raising any red flags.

“Paresh himself announced doing the film on his X handle in January, he participated in all pre-production planning, shot for a day (including the teaser promo) willingly. When he never expressed dissatisfaction at any point, for him to now suddenly play with the emotions of the fans of this franchise and inflict losses on the producer is clearly in bad faith.” As per a source.

The source added, “Paresh displayed a deliberate disregard for professional integrity or commercial morality. If he wanted to not do the film, he should have said so before signing the legal contract, accepting the signing amount and making the producer spend so much money on the shoot.”

The film, directed by the legendary Priyadarshan, reunited the beloved trio of Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Paresh Rawal in one of Bollywood’s most iconic comedy franchises. Akshay, who also serves as producer for Hera Pheri 3 after acquiring the rights from Feroz Nadiadwala, had reportedly committed significant time and resources to get the project off the ground.

Wake-Up Call for Bollywood on Professional Accountability

It is being suggested that this lawsuit may mark a turning point in how the industry approaches professionalism and accountability. “It is high time Bollywood actors realize that like Hollywood, producers here, too, will no longer give in to the whims of an actor walking in and out of a film as he pleases,” shared a source familiar with the legal proceedings.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Paresh Rawal has stepped away from a film mid-process. In 2023, he chose not to be a part of Oh My God 2, citing issues with the script. And back in 2009, he reportedly exited Shah Rukh Khan’s Billu Barber – another Priyadarshan directorial – after initially committing to the project.

This instance is peculiarly notable that this is the first time in Akshay Kumar’s 35-year career that he has taken legal action against a fellow actor.

Known for his professionalism and long-standing industry relationships, this move signals that even the most amicable stars are now drawing firm boundaries when it comes to business.

Akshay Kumar's Acting Journey

Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar, is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career spanning over 35 years, Kumar has appeared in over 150 films and has won several awards, including two National Film Awards and two Filmfare Awards. He received the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honor, from the Government of India in 2009. Kumar is one of the most prolific actors in Indian cinema. Forbes included Kumar in their lists of both highest-paid celebrities and highest-paid actors in the world from 2015 to 2020. Between 2019 and 2020, he was the only Indian on both lists.

Kumar began his career in 1991 with Saugandh and had his first commercial success a year later with the action thriller Khiladi. The film established him as an action star in the 1990s and led to several films in the Khiladi film series, in addition to other action films such as Mohra (1994) and Jaanwar (1999). He also gained recognition for the romantic films Dhadkan (2000), Andaaz (2003), Namastey London (2007), and for his slapstick comic performances in several films including Hera Pheri (2000), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), Phir Hera Pheri (2006), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), and Singh Is Kinng (2008). Kumar won Filmfare Awards for his negative role in Ajnabee (2001) and his comic performance in Garam Masala (2005).

He reinforced his status with several films, including Rowdy Rathore (2012) and Holiday (2014). Moreover, around this time critical response to several of his films improved; his work in Special 26 (2013), Baby (2015), Airlift (2016), and Jolly LLB 2 (2017) was acclaimed, and he won the National Film Award for Best Actor for the crime thriller Rustom (2016). He earned further notice for his self-produced social films Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017) and Pad Man (2018), as well as the war film Kesari (2019), and set box-office records in 2019 with Mission Mangal, Housefull 4, Good Newwz, and the 2021 action film Sooryavanshi.

He is one of the India's most philanthropic actors and supports various charities. He is a leading brand endorser celebrity in India. From 2011 to 2023, he was a citizen of Canada.

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