Hera Pheri 3, one of Bollywood’s most anticipated films, is in the news again. Only because somebody with a wild imagination yesterday spread the rumour that Kartik Aryan was stepping into the shoes of Raju – Akshay Kumar’s much-loved character from the first two films of Firoz Nadiadwala’s cult comedy franchise.

But it’s not true. PeepingMoon.com learned from a source attached to the series and its production house that there was no such development. And that Nadiadwala had not called on Kartik to come and take Hera Pheri 3 forward. The rumour was just that – a rumour meant to spook the cast waiting for the third part to roll.

But, yes, Kartik did approach Nadiadwala and asked to be cast in Hera Pheri 3, our source said. The producer was reportedly surprised, because in June he had already confirmed the film with its original cast. And he let Kartik know. So Nadiadwala was as surprised as everybody else to later hear that Kartik had replaced Akshay.

Recommended Read: You’ll get to see it very soon with the same star cast – Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Suniel Shetty: producer Firoz Nadiadwala confirms Hera Pheri 3 to be announced soon

Hera Pheri 3 has long been on the drawing board and fans of the franchise are eagerly waiting for its announcement. The film was supposed to go on floors in 2014, but it was indefinitely postponed when Neeraj Vora who wrote the film and directed the sequel fell ill and passed away in December 2017.

In the third part, Nadiadwala had confirmed in June, Akshay would take up his role as Raju once again while Paresh Rawal would reprise his role of Baburao and Suniel Shetty would once again play Shyam. There would be a new director. So who floated yesterday’s rumour? Only one man would do it – take a guess!