Suniel Shetty on Kartik Aaryan joining Hera Pheri 3: ‘He doesn’t play Raju, not replacing Akshay Kumar’

Suniel Shetty is all set to make his acting comeback with the MX Player web series Dharavi Bank. The show also marks the actor’s OTT debut. At the press meet of Dharavi Bank held today in Mumbai, indianexpress.com asked Suniel how happy he is with Kartik Aaryan joining him in Hera Pheri 3. The actor said that he is looking forward to working with Kartik, who he thinks adds the much-needed “spark of youth” to the franchise. He also revealed that Kartik doesn’t play Raju’s role and is not replacing Akshay Kumar in the next installment of Hera Pheri.

Suniel exclusively told indianexpress.com, “Kartik plays a completely different character. It is not Raju. Kartik has an amazing charm and that’s why he is where he is. He is passionate and he wants to work. He might just bring freshness to these three people. He might just add the spark of youth that he has. His experience and his energy might just work like magic. There’ll be someone to match Babu bhai’s energy na because Raju and Shyam have probably gotten older. I’m looking forward to Kartik and the film. It’s been fourteen long years, chaudaa saal ho Gaye, vanvaas ho Gaya, and still, the audience remembers the characters, which is fantastic.”

Suniel Shetty was also asked about Akshay Kumar’s departure from the Hera Pheri franchise. The actor had recently said that he is disappointed with Akshay not being a part of the film.

Suniel said, “I’ve been so busy in Dharavi (while shooting Dharavi Bank) that what hera pheri has happened with Hera Pheri 3, I don’t really know. To understand what’s going on, I’ll have to go back to the producers of the film and ask them, ‘Akshay Aur aapke beech mein kya hera pheri huiee hai? (What’s gone wrong between you and Akshay?)’ I genuinely don’t know what’s happening. I’ll meet them after November 20. I will talk to them and understand (what’s happening with the film).”

On being asked if he would still like the original cast to do the film, he said, “I just want ke koi hera pheri nahi ho, but Hera Pheri 3 zaroor bane (I don’t want any more confusion, but I definitely want the film to be made).” A few days ago, Akshay Kumar had said that he is not a part of Hera Pheri 3 due to creative differences and had apologized to his fans. Suniel Shetty is on a roll as after Dharavi Bank, the actor has File 323 with Anurag Kashyap, which is reportedly based on alleged financial fugitives Vijay Mallya and Mehul Choksi.

However, the film has courted legal trouble with a cease-and-desist order already served by Mehul. On being asked for a comment on the on-going controversy surrounding File 323, Sunil said that “the case is invalid anyway.” He said, “They have sent the notice to my producers. Our producers have responded to them that we are only making the film based on facts. It is an invalid case anyway.”

Directed by Samit Kakad, Dharavi Bank also stars Vivek Oberoi and Sonali Kulkarni in pivotal roles. The show will drop on MX Player on November 19.