In the ‘Film Friday’ series of Navbharat Times Online, today we are going to tell you about the same film, which the makers ‘killed’ Manisha Koirala, the film’s heroine, to promote it. This film was released in 1994. The name was ‘Criminal’, which was directed by Mahesh Bhatt. Apart from Manisha Koirala in the film, there were many other actors including Nagarjuna Ramya Krishnan and Johnny Lever. The film was produced by Mukesh Bhatt.
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Hollywood film remake, news of Manisha’s death printed
‘Criminal’ was the Hindi remake of the Hollywood film The Fugitive. The story of the film was about a doctor who is accused of killing his wife. After a few years, after being proved innocent, he remarries. This film was made , under the name ‘Criminal’. Along with Hindi, it was also shot in Telugu. According to IMDB, the makers had done a lot of planning to promote this film. When the film was released, Mukesh Bhatt published advertisements in big newspapers that Manisha Koirala had died. This was done to promote the film. Since Manisha Koirala’s character dies in the film. So the makers thought that this should be made a part of the promotion.
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The bet on the makers was reversed, there was a ruckus, Manisha Koirala was in shock
But this claim of the makers backfired on them. People called this act of the makers of ‘Criminal’ as ‘shoddy’ and told a lot of lies. It is said that Manisha Koirala was not even informed that such a promotional campaign is being planned using her name. In such a situation, when Manisha Koirala saw advertisements in the newspapers about her death, she was shocked. Not only Manisha Koirala, the entire film industry was shocked by such an act.
The film did well abroad
According to reports, the advertisement of Manisha Koirala’s death went viral and the actress started receiving calls. Even though the makers got a lot of grit due to this advertisement. But it performed well at the box office overseas. Ajay Devgn’s ‘Hulchal’ and Aamir Khan’s ‘Aantak Hi Terror’ were released on the same day as ‘Criminal’ released at the box office. ‘Criminal’ performed well in all three films.
Source: navbharattimes.indiatimes.com
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