Suniel Shetty reveals why he switched to comedy

MUMBAI: Actor Suniel Shetty started off as an action hero and then he switched to comedy with "Hera Pheri" in 2000.

In "Hera Pheri", which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, is still loved by many for its memorable characters Raju (played by Akshay Kumar), Babu bhaiya (played by Paresh Rawal) and Shyam (played by Suniel) and the comedy of errors they find themselves in.

"What makes it iconic is basically the simplicity of the film. 'Hera Pheri' is a film where everybody has problems and in those problems, there is so much humour that it is hard to stop watching. Also, it was a film where action heroes were doing comedy and being controlled by someone like Babu Bhai, so audiences must have found that very amusing. Then the basic script, the writing, the dialogues… the legendary direction of Priyadarshan and the entire team that worked so brilliantly...'Hera Pheri' is a perfect example of perfect team work," said Suniel.

"I knew Priyadarshan sir was a riot when it came to this genre. I switched over to comedy because I knew the kind of films he produced and his sense of comedy was brilliant. After this movie, Akshay and I worked on 'Awara Paagal Deewana'," he said in a chat with IMDb.

Remembering the shoot days of "Hera Pheri", Suniel said: "I don't know how the film was made, it just happened. We arrived on the sets every morning, the costumes were basically just stretched and given to us, not even ironed. The director would ask us to sleep in the afternoon on paper, so we used to sleep on newspapers. He (Priyadarshan) said 'I don't want you to be comfortable. When you get up, you should have rested, but stay uncomfortable'."

"So, we wore no make-up, nothing. Akshay Kumar, me and Pareshji were constantly together, constantly rehearsing our lines, constantly improvising and Priyadarshan sir is one man who knows when to say cut," recalled the actor, known for movies like "Border", "Krishna" and "Gopi Kishan".

The comedy film was followed up by "Phir Hera Pheri" in 2006. There have been reports of the actors reuniting for "Hera Pheri 3".