The film initially had two endings when released, where the heroine chose Mammootty in one version, and Mohanlal in the other one. This was an attempt by the filmmakers to satisfy the fanbases of both Mammootty and Mohanlal, 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producer warning that it would take legal action, unless the ending with Mammootty, which had not been certified, was withdrawn.[3][4] The producers were embroiled in legal actions after that,[4] but the gimmick helped the film to bring in millions of rupees.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]
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 fell on Hari's name and she presumably marries him and Krishnan becomes her friend.
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.[5]
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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8]
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.[3][4] However, in television premieres, both film versions were shown.[8]
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."[9] 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".[10] Usha Gopalakrishnan of Indolink.com reviewing Tamil version gave the film 2 stars, writing: "The scenes where both Mammooty and Mohanlal compete with each other in courting Juhi are very nicely picturized. Some scenes are even funny. This is a movie that could be watched with the whole family. It is very decent (just as all the other Fazil movies). Wait for the video instead of spending money in the theater."[11][12]
Box office
The film's budget was ₹2.5 crore (US$310,000) and recovered its cost within two weeks.[2] The film collected ₹5.6 lakh (US$7,000) from first week beating the previous record of Aaraam Thampuran, which was ₹4 lakh (US$5,000).[13] The film was commercial success.[14][15]
