Before 'Hera Pheri 3' Paresh Rawal criticised Bollywood for making sequels to MINT MONEY; claimed, "Phir Hera Pheri’ lost its innocence"

Even 25 years after its release, the ‘Hera Pheri’ franchise remains an iconic part of Indian cinema. Behind the humour and nostalgia, actor Paresh Rawal, who played the beloved Baburao, was in the news over his controversial exit from the project. However, did you know that the actor once gave a surprisingly honest take on why he wasn’t fully on board with the sequel, 'Phir Hera Pheri'.

In an old interview with Siddharth Kannan, Paresh Rawal admitted that he felt the second film had lost the charm that made the original so special. "It lost its innocence," he said, pointing out how the story became too cluttered in an effort to outdo its predecessor.

He revealed that he even warned director Neeraj Vohra not to overfill the script with unnecessary elements. “People will laugh at anything,” Rawal noted, “but we don’t have to run naked for laughs.” His message was clear, simplicity was the real strength of the first film.

Rawal also touched on a larger issue: the trend of making sequels purely for profit. Speaking in another interview with The Lallantop, he criticized Bollywood’s tendency to recycle characters and slap on new jokes, just to cash in. "A sequel made only to mint money isn’t fun,” he said.

Despite being one of the franchise’s most iconic characters, Rawal has often spoken about feeling trapped by Baburao’s image. He called the role a “gale ka phanda” (a noose around the neck) and shared his frustration over being typecast. While fans still cherish Baburao, Rawal feels the character has more depth to explore, if only filmmakers were willing to take that leap. “There’s either a lack of imagination or just plain laziness,” he said.

Now, with 'Hera Pheri 3' in the works and Rawal reportedly not part of it, fans and co-stars alike are hoping for a resolution, on and off screen.