Harikrishnans

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producer warning that it would take legal action, unless the ending with Mammootty, which had not been certified, was withdrawn. The producers were embroiled in legal actions after that, 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.

Plot
The Harikrishnans are one of the most famous lawyer duos in India. To avoid confusion one is called as Hari and the other as Krishnan. They head the organization called Harikrishnan Associates, which consists of around 300 lawyers. They get engaged in a murder case of Guptan, who was allegedly killed by a deaf and dumb woodcutter, Gabriel. Gabriel is a friend of Hari's sister and Harikrishnans become the defence lawyers upon her request.

The Harikrishnans begin an investigation and come across Meera, a friend of Guptan. Both of them fall in love with her. After some trouble over the matter, they rediscover their friendship and get involved in the case again. They discover that Guptan actually died due to poisoning by his relatives who were doctors who wanted to amass his wealth. The culprits are captured and Guptan's elderly father accepts Sudarshanan, a former student of Guptan, as his son and successor to the property.

In the end, Meera opts for a random method to choose her life partner, as she is equally fond of both Harikrishnans. She decides to toss a leaf, with the name it lands on being designated as her friend, who would then choose who should marry her. The leaf lands on Hari's name, and it is presumed that she makes him her friend. It is likely that Hari would suggest Krishnan as the one to marry her.

Alternate ending
In the uncensored cut of the film, the leaf lands on Krishnan's name, and it is presumed that she makes him her friend. It is likely that Krishnan would suggest Hari as the one to marry her.

There was another ending planned with Shah Rukh Khan. He was proposed to do the role of the lover of Meera. But due to some technical problems it was cancelled.

Cast

 * Mohanlal as Adv. Harikrishnan / Krishnan
 * Mammootty as Adv. Harikrishnan / Hari
 * Juhi Chawla as Meera (voiced by Sreeja Ravi)
 * Innocent as Adv. Sundaran
 * Nedumudi Venu as Thampuran (Thirumanassu), Guptan's elderly father
 * Kunchako Boban as Sudarshanan
 * Baby Shamili as Ammalu, Hari's younger sister and Krishnan's cousin
 * Rajiv Menon as Guptan, Meera's friend
 * Cochin Haneefa as Kunjikuttan, Meera's cousin
 * V. K. Sreeraman as Gabriel, who is both deaf and dumb (gets implicated in Guptan's murder)
 * Krishna as Sudarshanan's friend
 * Sudheesh as Sudarshanan's Friend
 * Poojappura Ravi as Ramabhadran [Ramappan], Thampuran's sinister younger cousin
 * Venu Nagavalli as Kallurkaatil Vishwambharan, Meera's father
 * Jagadish as Public Prosecutor
 * Maniyanpilla Raju as Kunjikuttan's Advocate
 * Hemanth Ravan as Dr Jaya Kumar, Ramappan's elder son and Guptan's cousin (who murdered Guptan)
 * Baburaj as Prem Kumar, Ramappan's younger son and Guptan's cousin (who murdered Guptan)
 * Reena as Meera's mother
 * Sajitha Betti as Ammalu's friend, Nisha
 * Saranya Mohan as Ammalu's Friend
 * Kanakalatha as Ammalu's neighbour
 * Sankaradi
 * Krishna Prasad as Sudarshanan's friend
 * K.P.A.C. Sunny as Judge
 * V.P. Ramachandran as Ammalu's neighbour
 * Augustine as Sasi, Kunjikuttan's driver
 * K. P. Ummer as Sudarshanan's Hostel Warden
 * Yadu Krishnan as Sudarshanan's friend
 * Jereesh James as Sudarshanan's friend
 * Vijayan Peringode as Temple Poojaari at Kovilakkam
 * Jose Pellissery as Jose-paapa, the guard at Ammalu's neighbourhood in Ponoor
 * Antony Perumbavoor as Ambulance driver Antony

Soundtrack
K. J. Yesudas sang his parts in two different voices, to simulate the singing of both the lead actors during the song sequences in the film.

Release
Harikrishnans had multiple climaxes to appease the fan base of the lead actors Mammootty and Mohanlal. This had also caused some controversy. The scene was when Meera (Juhi Chawla) chooses one of them to be her friend among both the Harikrishnans. She admires both equally and goes for a selection method which her grandmother taught her, whenever she had to make tough decisions. She sets the method so as to choose her friend; the loser of the toss presumably becoming Mira's life partner. One of the climax shots shows Hari (Mammootty) winning the toss and the other one Krishnan (Mohanlal) winning it. This, however, became controversial and took a communal turn when lawsuits were filed claiming that prints exhibited in Hindu-dominated areas showed Mohanlal marrying the heroine, whereas the ones in Muslim-dominated areas showed Mammootty marrying her.

However, only the Mohanlal version of the film was submitted to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and censored on 1 September 1998. Soon after the release, CBFC was quick to send a notice to the producer warning that the board would take legal action unless the uncensored alternate ending (Mammootty version) is removed from the exhibition. As a result, all the prints of Mammootty version was withdrawn from theatres and replaced with the other version. However, in television premieres, both film versions were shown.

Critical reception
Jayalakshmi K. of Deccan Herald wrote "Perhaps if Fazil had decided what he wanted, a love story or a murder case, the movie might have fared better." Padmanabha Venugopal of Indian Express wrote "Though it is entertaining, the movie doesn't have the support of a good script. Though the presence of two big-wigs and the controversy over the ending all made it spin money, artistically the movie suffered". D. S. Ramanujam of The Hindu called it "another fine example of director Fazil's directorial acumen" and added that the two lead actors "are in the thick of the drama right through and share the acting honours with their elegant performances".

Box office
The film's budget was inr 25000000 and recovered its cost within two weeks. The film collected inr 560000 from first week beating the previous record of Aaraam Thampuran, which was inr 400000. The film was commercial success.