The Hera Pheri franchise landed in a legal trouble after renowned producer Firoz Nadiadwala filed a lawsuit, citing cheating and defamation.
In a major development, a police complaint was filed by the producer at Amboli police station in Mumbai against producers Gopala Pillai Vijaykumar and M. Paul Michael.
According to the Free Press Journal, police registered the case earlier this week on April 27.
The FIR mentioned cheating and defamation related to the copyright of the 1989 Malayalam movie Ramji Rao Speaking, on which Hera Pheri is based and released in 2001.
According to the 62-year-old producer’s filed FIR, he invested heavily in the Indian adaption in 1997 when director Priyadarshan brought him the story, after which the film was developed and shot between 1998 and 2000.
He said that he legally acquired those rights in March 2000, for Rs 4.50 lakh, obtaining copyright for Hindi and other languages, excluding southern languages.
Nadiadwala stated that no objections were raised for 25 years, however, now a pattern of interference has been emerged in recent years as back In December 2024, he received a copyright notice.
Then, in October 2025, a petition was filed against him by Vijaykumar in the Madras High Court, claiming fresh ownership of the rights through another company.
Firoz Nadiadwala, while calling the claim fabricated, claimed that the accused "demanded Rs 60 lakh and 25% profit share, while spreading false information using actors' names."
Meanwhile, Hera Pheri franchise's upcoming threequel movie, Hera Pheri 3, does not have a confirmed release date yet
