Hera Pheri (2000 film)

Hera Pheri (transl. Foul Play) is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Priyadarshan and written by Neeraj Vora, starring Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Tabu, Om Puri and Gulshan Grover. The film is a remake of 1989 Malayalam film Ramji Rao Speaking. It is the first instalment of the Hera Pheri franchise. The plot revolves around two tenants, Raju and Shyam, and their landlord, Baburao Ganpatrao Apte, who are in desperate need of money. They chance upon a ransom call through a cross connection and hatch a plan to claim the ransom for themselves.

The film was released on 31 March 2000. It opened with mixed reviews, some of whom applauded the performances of Kumar and Rawal particularly. The film is considered Kumar's foray into the comedy genre. Although the film achieved moderate success, grossing ₹17.8 crore at the box office against a budget of ₹7.5 crore. It spawned a sequel, Phir Hera Pheri, released in 2006.

Over the years, the film has evolved into a cult classic, and is widely regarded as one of the best Indian comedy films ever made. The film is noted for its authenticity and depiction of economic problem of lower middle class families in India, situational comedy, dialogues, performances of the lead trio Kumar, Rawal and Shetty. It was voted as the best Bollywood comedy film of all time in an online poll conducted by The Indian Express.