The highly anticipated comedy Hera Pheri 3 has encountered a major legal challenge after a South Indian production house moved the Madras High Court, claiming that it holds the copyright to the franchise, not producer Firoz Nadiadwala. The dispute has cast uncertainty over the future of the film, which had been eagerly awaited by fans of the iconic Bollywood comedy series.

At the centre of the controversy is Seven Arts International Limited, a company that says it purchased the full rights to the original Hera Pheri franchise from the makers of the Malayalam classic Ramji Rao Speaking. According to Seven Arts, the deal gave it exclusive ownership of the story and all related films, including future instalments. The company contends that Nadiadwala was only authorised to make one Hindi remake of the original Malayalam film, which he did with the 2000 version directed by Priyadarshan.