Harikrishnans

Infobox_Film
name = Harikrishnans |

---

caption=Shah Rukh Khan, Mammootty, Juhi Chawla and Mohanlal in a promotional still showing the abandoned climax scene
writer = Fazil
starring = Mammootty
Mohanlal,
Juhi Chawla,
Nedumudi Venu,
Shamili,
Kunchacko Boban
director = Fazil
producer = Suchithra Mohanlal
released = 1998
runtime =
language = Malayalam
music = Ouseppachan
awards =
budget = 14 Crore

"Harikrishnans" is a 1998 big budget Malayalam film directed by Fazil starring Mammootty, Mohanlal and Juhi Chawla. The film created much pre-release hype due to the presence of Mammootty and Mohanlal, the biggest stars of the industry and multiple climaxes.

Plot

The Harikrishnans(Mammootty and Mohanlal) is a famous lawyer duo. To avoid confusion one is called as Hari(Mammooty) and the other as Krishnan(Mohanlal). They get engaged in a murder case of Guptan, who was allegedly killed by Gabriel. Gabriel is a friend of their sister and Harikrishnans become the defense lawyers upon her request. Harikrishnans begin investigation and come across Mira(Juhi Chawla), 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. At the end Mira decides to go for a random method of choosing her lover as she liked both Harikrishnans equally. Two different climaxes of the film show either of Hrikrishnans winning the toss for being Mira's friend; the losing person presumably becoming Mira's lover

Multiple Climaxes

Harikrishnans was the first Indian film to have multiple climaxes. The multiple climaxes were necessary because of popularity of the lead stars, Mammootty and Mohanlal. Both of them have their own huge fan base and the concentration of the fan base varies in different regions. However, the multiple climaxes were only different from each other by a single shot. The scene was when Mira(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 lover. One of the climax shots show Hari(Mammootty) winning the toss and the other one shows Krishnan(Mohanlal) winning it. The first climax was used in regions of higher fan base to Mohanlal like Thiruvananthapuram and the second, in regions in which Mammootty has upper hand, like Malapuram. A third climax was also planned for release in areas with neutral fan base featuring Shahrukh Khan. Even promotional stills of the third climax were taken, but the plan was abandoned due to difficulty in introducing a subplot, and it never saw light. After a few weeks, Fazil decided to remove one of the climaxes and settle with the same climax in all prints. He chose the one which shows Hari(Mammootty) winning the toss. The CD, DVD and Television releases of the film also followed the suit.

Cast

* Mammootty ... Harikrishnan
* Mohanlal ... Harikrishnan
* Juhi Chawla ... Mira
* Innocent ... Sundaran
* Nedumudi Venu ... Thampuran
* Kunchako Boban ... Sudarsanan
* Shamili ... Ammalu
* Rajiv Menon ... Guptan
* V.K. Sriraman ... Gabriel
* Cochin Hanifa ... Kunjikuttan
* Sudheesh
* Pujappura Ravi ... Ramabhadran
* Venu Nagavalli ... Vishwambharan
* Jagadish ... Public Prosecuter
* Manian Pillai Raju

Crew

*Direction: Fazil
*Writer: Fazil
*Producer: Suchithra Mohanlal
*Distributor: Pranavam Arts Release
*Music: Ouseppachan