Actor Ali Fazal will not be returning as Zafar in the third installment of 'Fukrey 3' as "time and schedules" don't allow him to.

Amid the release date announcement of 'Fukrey 3', the poster created a tizzy as it did not feature the fourth 'Fukra' Ali Fazal. He has now come out with a statement saying that he will not be a part of the third installment.

Ali in a statement said: "So Zafar aayega ya nahi? Sab yahi puch rahe hain baar baar. Sorry saathiyon, iss baari nahi! (Everyone is asking if Zafar will come or. But Sorry, not this time.")

He added: "Zafar bhai ko kabhi kabhi Guddu bhaiya bhi banna padhta hai. Aur do universes overlap ho jaate hain kabhi kabhi. (Zafar sometimes has become Guddu bhaiya. Overlapping happens in two universes.)"

Ali said: "Once a fukra always a fukra so I am around. . . But I won't be coming on screen for the third outing of the Fukras, Bholi and Panditji! I would have wanted to be part of it but time and schedules didn't allow me to."

"I will be back in the future at some juncture, maybe sooner than you expect. Zafar will be back after a small detour to entertain you guys!"

The third installment of actors Varun Sharma, Pulkit Samrat, Manjot Singh and Richa Chadha's comedy film 'Fukrey' is all set to hit the big screen on September 7 on the auspicious occasion of Krishna Janmashtami.

'Fukrey 3', which also stars Pankaj Tripathi, is directed by Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and produced under Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar's Excel Entertainment.