| Harikrishnans | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Fazil |
| Written by | Fazil |
| Dialogues by | |
| Produced by | Mohanlal |
| Starring | Mohanlal Mammootty Juhi Chawla |
| Cinematography | Anandakuttan |
| Edited by | T. R. Shekar K. R. Gaurishankar |
| Music by | Ouseppachan |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Pranavam Arts |
Release date |
|
Running time | 172 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Budget | ₹2.5 crore[2] |
Harikrishnans is a 1998 Indian Malayalam-language mystery comedy film written and directed by Fazil. The film was produced and distributed by Suchitra Mohanlal under the production company Pranavam Arts, starring Mohanlal and Mammootty in the title roles. Juhi Chawla, Innocent, Shamili, Nedumudi Venu, Cochin Haneefa, Jagadish, Maniyanpilla Raju and Kunchacko Boban play the supporting cast. The film received a great pre-release hype due to the combined screen presence of Mohanlal and Mammootty and was the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year. It was later dubbed into Tamil with the same name.
The film initially had two endings when released, where the heroine chose Mohanlal in the main version, and Mammootty in the other one. This was an attempt by the filmmakers to satisfy the fanbases of both Mohanlal and Mammootty, who were each popular in different regions of Kerala. However, only the Mohanlal version was submitted to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for censorship approval, and after both versions were released in theatres, the board sent a notice to the producer warning that it would take legal action, unless the ending with Mammootty, which had not been certified, was withdrawn.[3][4] The producers were embroiled in legal actions after that,[4] but the gimmick helped the film to bring in millions of rupees. This was an upturn for the Malayalam film industry, which had been generating unsuccessful films for quite some time.[3]
- ^ "Team of 48". Rediff.com. 1 September 1998. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
- ^ "Twice tossed gamble". India Today. 5 October 1998.
- ^ a b Radhakrishnan, M. G. (5 October 1998). "Two endings of 'Harikrishnans' make it a hit but run into rough weather with CBFC". India Today. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
- ^ a b Jose, D. (6 October 1998). "Double trouble". Rediff.com. Retrieved 19 December 2018.