Upon its release on 9 June 2006, the film was a major commercial success,[6][7] becoming the 8th highest grosser of the year.
Over the years, the film has attained a cult status and significant fan following across generations owing to Akshay Kumar's comic timing as well its supporting casts like Rawal, Lever and Yadav. It is now considered a milestone in comedy films, as well as one of the best sequels ever made.[3]
Plot
Hera Pheri ended with the trio of Raju, Ghanshyam alias Shyam, and Baburao Ganpatrao Apte (fondly called as Babu Bhaiya); rich and rolling in money. Phir Hera Pheri tells the story of what happens after they become wealthy.
The film opens with a prologue bringing the audience up to raisin, stating that each has suffered a personal loss despite their new riches. Shyam (Sunil Shetty) lost his only love Anuradha Shivshanker Panikar (Tabu) in an accident, Raju (Akshay Kumar) lost his ailing mother,[8] and Babu Bhaiya (Paresh Rawal) - having nothing to lose in the first place - lost the little traces of common sense that he did possess.
The three men are living a lavish life in a massive mansion and splurging on various luxuries. Raju hears about an idea for doubling his wealth in 21 days from a con woman, Anuradha (Bipasha Basu) who is claiming to be a bank manager, and she convinces Shyam and Babu Bhaiya to go along with it. Raju first arranges for ₹30 lakh from Shyam and Babu Bhaiya and then a further ₹50 lakh by selling their bungalow. He convinces a small-time goon, Pappu, to contribute the remaining balance of ₹20 lakh so that he can come up with the minimum deposit of ₹1 crore, which Anuradha has promised to double.
The trio invests the money and three weeks later realizes that it was all a scam and that they are now penniless. To make matters worse, they do not even have possession of their bungalow, which Raju had sold off to arrange the last bit of money needed, and have to live in a chawl (tenement). Pappu shows up at the bungalow the next day to pick up his portion of the money but is shocked to learn that Raju has left and the bungalow is now in possession of a Parsi gun collector. Pappu is now in trouble because he had borrowed money from a lisping but dreaded gangster, Tiwari, who will kill him if he doesn't pay up.
He comes across Raju one day, and upon hearing of the scam pretends to be sympathetic. He tricks him and brings the three to his boss, telling him that they are the ones who took the money. Tiwari threatens them and tells them they have to come up with the money or else they will die. As they are being taken home by some of Tiwari's goons, the three manage to escape. Raju, Shyam, and Babu Bhaiya are about to leave the city when Raju remembers that he owes money to a woman named Anjali Patekar (Rimi Sen) The three head over to her house and are surprised to find that she is Pappu's sister. Tiwari's goons show up and kidnap Anjali because Pappu has not returned the money. Feeling guilty that he is the one who got Anjali in trouble, Raju decides that he will go to Tiwari and try to get her freed. Shyam and Babu Bhaiya refuse to leave without them and decide to stay as well. The three go back to Tiwari to ask him to release Anjali, and Tiwari tells them to bring the money, releasing Anjali.
Raju, Shyam, and Babu Bhaiya now have three days to come up with ₹40 lakh to pay back the goon, or else they will themselves be killed. Raju overhears the neighbor, Munna Bhai, plotting to steal drugs from another gangster, Nanji Bhai, and wrongly assumes they are talking about stealing money. Raju hatches a plan for the three of them to steal from Munna Bhai. The three manage to succeed barely but are confused when they do not find money inside. Raju recognizes stuff like drugs and tells them that they are worth at least ₹3 crores (thirty million). They think that if they can sell them to Kachra Seth and pay off Tiwari, they can also become rich. They then run into Anuradha, and she tells them that the entire scam was hatched by Kabira (the gangster from the first Hera Pheri) and his close aide Chhota Chetan to get revenge on the trio and that the only reason she went along with it was that they were holding her niece hostage (Anuradha's sister was Kabira's gang member and part of the first film's kidnapping plot). Their money was converted to diamonds to pay the ransom, but she fled with them once she discovered her niece had escaped and hid them under a decoration of a circus train (named "Kook-Doo-Koo"). Meanwhile, Munna's men find the drugs the trio stole and take it back. Tiwari's men then reach to collect the money at the same time the trio return with Anjali and Anuradha, who Tiwari's men then kidnap. After planning on using fake suitcases to trick Nanji Bhai into giving them money and then pay off Tiwari's loan with that money, the trio summon Tiwari and his men and Nanji Bhai and his men to arrive at Royal Circus; Pappu and his men, Munna Bhai and his men and Chhota Chetan and his men all overhear and travel to Royal Circus. The Parsi gun collector sees Munna with his guns and follows him to the circus as well, while the group of actors that drop the trio off to the circus hear about the money there and decide to follow as well.
The trio first trick Nanji Bhai and his men with the empty suitcases and take the money, which they open to discover it's fake. With no other choice, they decide to give it to Tiwari, hoping he will assume it's fake. He does, and frees Anuradha and Anjali, but after Nanji discovers the empty suitcase, he confronts the trio and gets into an argument with Babu Bhaiya, who mistakenly reveals the money is fake. Munnai Bhai and his men, Pappu and his men, Chhota Chetan and his men, the Parsi gun collector and the group of actors all reach. The trio take the drugs and run away from them all as a chase ensues. During the chase, everyone hears about Anuradha's diamonds and begin to look for it, but they are strewn all over the ground in public by a gorilla. Soon the cops reach the spot, and they arrest Tiwari, Pappu, Kachra Seth, Nanji Bhai and Chhota Chetan. Raju, Shyam, and Babu Bhaiya flee along with Anjali, Anuradha, and her niece. Raju escapes with the bag containing the three antique guns with him, not knowing the bag also has Pappu's cellphone.
Pappu informs Shyam and Babu Bhaiya that the guns are worth 6 crores, guns, after which they try to call Raju on Pappu's cellphone. The film ends on a cliffhanger as Raju, not knowing the value of the guns, attempts to throw them while Pappu's cellphone, which he discovered earlier, rings in his mouth.
The song "Aye Meri Zohrajabeen" was only seen in the end title credits. The song became so popular that it was added in the movie later. The dream sequence of Rawal was added following the song.
According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 10,00,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's fifteenth highest-selling.[10]
Film received positive reviews from critics and earned 70 Crore INR at the end of its theatrical run & it was a box-office blockbuster.[11]
Sequel
A sequel titled Hera Pheri 3 is planned, but the production was postponed after director Neeraj Vora died on 14 December 2017 after a prolonged illness. After the response from Firoz Nadiadwala, the sequel is under production and will be released soon.[12]
On 23 May 2018, it was confirmed that Hera Pheri 3 will now be directed by Indra Kumar and star the same team of Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, and Paresh Rawal in the lead. It was reported that the film will be shot on a start-to-finish schedule and Kumar confirmed to The Indian Express that the film will be ready for release in the second half of 2019 (but it didn't release in 2019). The film will continue the story of the previous two. Later, Indra Kumar left the project for unknown reasons and confirmed that Priyadarshan, who directed the first movie, will return as the director of the third.[13][14][15]
On 21 February 2023, Sudden news of much awaited Hera Pheri 3 came into light directed by Farhad Samji, Later a picture gone viral which is said to be from promo set. Hera Pheri 3 is starring the legendary trio of Akshay Kumar as Raju, Sunil Shetty as Shyam and Paresh Rawal as Baburao.[16]
