The chatter around Hera Feri 3 refuses to die soon. Firstly, the makers (by fans) were asked to bring back actor Akshay Kumar for the third installment after Kumar had confirmed that he had opted out of the franchise and now that he is finally on board, it seems fans are not too happy with director Farhad Samji helming the project, also starring Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal.
Actors Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal recently shot for a promo for the official announcement of Hera Pheri 3.
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On Friday night, a twitter handle named Akkistan, one of Kumar’s most popular fanclubs, urged film buffs to unite and “Remove Farhad Samji from Ira Feri“Trend. And it is among the top trends on the social media platform.
Talking to us about why such a ruckus, Neeraj Raut, the owner of the fanclub says, “Starting from Entertainment (2014), Full house 3 (2016), Full house 4 (2019) and the latest Bachchan Pandey (2022), none of Farhad’s films helped Akshay sir at the box office or in terms of content. In fact, it has only done more damage to his image than good.”
This requirement for another director for Hera Feri 3 developed after Samji’s recent directorial web series Popcorn? received negative reviews in all sections. “The Akkians were against him from the very first day this news came out, but we waited until this Popcorn? The show is out and now we’re sure it’s going to destroy a classic franchise that has won critical and commercial acclaim in the past. Its content is getting creepier with each passing project,” says Raut, who has also written an open letter to Kumar, urging him and the producers to rethink the decision.
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“Apart from Farhan, anyone else is working. There are Raj Shandilya, Raj Mehta, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Priyadarshan who directed OG Hera Pheri… Even Sajid Khan is better than him,” he quips.
While the Ira Feri Fans are calling for Samji’s removal, trade pundits seem divided on opinion. Trade expert Atul Mohan agrees with the public sentiment and says, “We should respect public opinion. Times have changed now, and while earlier no one cared who directed a film, now die-hard fans want to have a say. The producers should definitely rethink this and bring someone on board who can raise the bar of this sequel a notch higher. You don’t need a genius, but certainly someone sensible to do justice to a popular franchise.”
While trade expert Taran Adarsh agrees that “any trend on twitter can sway an important decision,” he adds, “Ultimately, this is a call for the producers, the studio and the actors involved to make.”
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Against all this social media trending culture, trade analyst Komal Nahta notes that it is too early to comment on whether a director should helm a project or not and should wait until the trailer comes out. In detail, “Who are they to understand the dynamics of cinema? Now if they’re going to start deciding who’s going to make a movie and who’s going to be cast, then why don’t they just start making it? They have the right to comment when the film is available to the public.”
