Fans of Hera Pheri are eagerly waiting for the third installment of the film series. However, the journey to making the film hasn’t been easy. One of the leads, Akshay Kumar has reportedly decided to give up his fee for ‘Hera Pheri 3’. Instead, he has reportedly signed a profit-sharing deal.

According to a report by Bollywood Hungama, Akshay was “very sad” when he learnt that Kartik Aaryan was replacing him. He allegedly tried to mend things with the filmmakers after witnessing his fans’ reactions to the news of Aaryan being in the film in place of him.

This decision was allegedly taken by Akshay after he learned about the finances of the producers. Reports suggest that Akshay is confident that the film will fare well at the box office which is why he has forgone his fee in exchange of a profit-sharing margin.

“Akshay Kumar was himself very sad when he heard that Kartik Aaryan was replacing him in Hera Pheri 3. He read all the reactions of fans and media people and then decided to sort out all the differences with Firoz Nadiadwala, and thereby return to the franchise. He has done it for all his fans, who wanted to see him as Raju and Rajeev,” a source reportedly told Bollywood Hungama.

“Akshay knew that Firoz Nadiadwala isn’t in best of financial condition, however, was very well aware that the basic idea of Welcome 3 and Hera Pheri 3 have potential to emerge as a humongous blockbuster. To start with, he first decided to completely sacrifice his fees, and entered into a profit-sharing model with Firoz Nadiadwala on entire revenue. Firoz wanted to retain the IP, and hence he has complete control over the IP, however, he will be sharing revenue with Akshay in a pre-decided ratio,” added the source.

Earlier, Akshay had backed out of Hera Pheri 3 due to creative differences. During the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Akshay had expressed his disappointment about the fact that he won’t be part of the film. He revealed that when the film was offered to him, he was not satisfied with the screenplay and script.

“I have to do what people want to see and that is why I backed out, I took a step behind,” Akshay was quoted as saying.

“For me, it’s a part of me, my life, my journey, in a huge way. Mujhe bhi bahut dukh ho raha hai. Main khud bhi bahut dukhi hun iss baat se ki main kar nahi paa raha hun (I am also very upset with the fact that I won’t be doing it) because I’m not happy with how things have shaped up. That’s why I backed out,” he had added.

However, things are back on track now with the confirmation of Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, and Suniel Shetty coming together for the third time to continue their legacy.