Krish clarifies he did not walk out on Hari Hara Veera Mallu due to Pawan Kalyan; blames ‘personal issues’

Director Krish broke silence about walking out of Hari Hara Veera Mallu while promoting his upcoming film Ghaati with Anushka Shetty.

Director Krish Jagarlamudi was supposed to direct Pawan Kalyan’s historic epic film Hari Hara Veera Mallu before he walked out of the project in early 2024. Producer AM Rathnam’s son, filmmaker Jyothi Krisna, had to take over the directing duties, with the film only releasing in July this year. While promoting his upcoming film Ghaati, here’s what Krish said about walking out of the project.

Krish was the director of Pawan Kalyan's Hari Hara Veera Mallu before he walked out of the project.

Krish clarifies why he walked out of HHVM

Krish spoke to the press in Hyderabad over the weekend about his upcoming film Ghaati. Claiming that he had nothing but respect for Pawan and Rathnam, he said, “I directed a portion of Hari Hara Veera Mallu. I have nothing but love and respect for Pawan Kalyan and AM Rathnam. When I was a kid, I saw Surya movies (Mega Surya Productions) and always dreamt of working with him. I have always been inspired by him.”

Krish also spoke about why he walked out of the project, mostly blaming Covid and his personal issues, though he did bring up scheduling conflicts. “We had some issues with the schedule, and Covid hit after we began shooting. I also had a few personal issues that prompted me to walk out of the project. And then Jyothi Krisna had to pick up where I left off. Since then, I have concentrated completely on Ghaati,” he said.

The making of HHVM

Pawan okayed the script of HHVM in 2019 and underwent a look test for it in early 2020. The film went on floors, and soon, Krish confirmed that he was working on a period film with Pawan. The film’s title was announced in 2021. Though initially marketed as a single film, in May 2024, the production house announced that it would be released in two parts after rumours of Krish walking out and the project being shelved began spreading. It was announced that Jyothi had taken over the project.

Speculations were rife that Krish had walked out as Pawan was juggling shooting for the film with campaigning for the Andhra Pradesh elections. He finished shooting for the film this year after winning the elections last year and becoming the Deputy CM of AP. Krish, however, stayed mum on his walkout till now. Ghaati will be released in theatres on 5 September. HHVM was released in theatres in July this year to mostly negative reviews and made ₹116.82 crore worldwide.