Director Krish and Jyothi Krishna’s much-hyped historical epic Hari Hara Veera Mallu (HHVM), starring Pawan Kalyan, has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Released in theatres on July 24, the film stumbled at the box office, with audiences blaming its weak VFX and flat screenplay.
But the drama didn’t stop there; its OTT debut on Prime Video (Aug 20) has sparked a fresh round of backlash, this time over its multiple endings.
Theatrical Cut (2h 43m) shocked viewers with a bizarre tornado fight between Veera Mallu (Pawan) and Aurangzeb (Bobby Deol).
After poor response, producer AM Rathnam rushed out a Second Cut, dropping the tornado and replacing it with Aurangzeb’s warning, “Aandhi vastundi” (“A storm is coming”) as Veera galloped toward him.
Now, the OTT Cut (2h 33m) throws another curveball; ending abruptly after a fight sequence, removing both the tornado and the “storm” teaser.
Fans are bewildered. “Malli kotha climax aa? (Another new ending?)” wrote one user on X.
Another quipped: “First day RRR-type ending, third day another one, and OTT brings a third! Who certified you as a director?”
Not everyone was harsh. A section of viewers felt the OTT cut worked better. “This should’ve been the theatre ending - a tighter high note,” one fan said, while others lamented the filmmakers’ “golden chance” gone to waste.
With Pawan Kalyan, Bobby Deol, and Nidhhi Agerwal leading the cast, HHVM was meant to be a grand saga of a rebel tasked with stealing the Koh-i-Noor from Aurangzeb. Instead, it’s become a case study in how not to end a film.
