It is impossible to imagine Hera Pheri franchise without Akshay Kumar. And, when the news of Khiladi Kumar backing out of the project, many fans lost interest in the franchise altogether. While Suniel Shetty revealed that he will try his best to get him onboard, Akshay seems to have made up his mind already. Amid all this, there is a new update.

Varun dhawan

Why didn't he come on board?

Reportedly, makers approached Varun Dhawan after Akshay Kumar refused to come on board. Going by Varun's hold on comedy and comic timing, the Badlapur actor was approached to replace Akshay. But, out of sheer respect for Akshay and the expectations that come with it, Dhawan had to let it go.

Varun dhawan

"Both Firoz and Anand wanted Varun Dhawan to step into the shoes of Raju, as he has the conviction of doing comedies like no one else. The two producers also made an offer to David Dhawan to direct the film with Rohit Dhawan as the co-director," a Bollywood Hungama report stated.

"While the offer was very tempting, Varun didn't want to jump into the franchise created by Akshay Kumar. He has tremendous respect for Akshay Kumar and didn't want to use the not-so-good equation between Akshay and Firoz, to climb the ladder of stardom. Hera Pheri 3 is a sure-shot blockbuster, but Varun stepped out of the film out of respect for Akshay. His father, David Dhawan also felt the same," he further said.