Explainer: How unfinished films like 'Explorers,' 'Dark Blood' got released
Arjun Kapoor-Bhumi Pednekar's The Lady Killer arrived discreetly in select theaters on November 3 and tiptoed its way out soon after. A film both actors have distanced themselves from, it's directed by Ajay Behl and bankrolled by one of India's biggest productions: T-Series. How did an unfinished film reach theaters? Has it ever happened before anywhere in the world? Let's unravel this mystery.
This is why it happened
Indian Express stated, "Today everyone is bound by an OTT contract, which means they have to deliver their film by a certain date. If they fail to do so, then the contract lapses and they have to find a new partner." Interestingly, Behl had commented (now-deleted) on Tried and Refused Productions's YT page and acknowledged that "30 pages of the 117-page screenplay were unshot."
Fan-favorite 'Explorers' is such an example
While TLK might be the first of its kind recently in this notorious category, it's not alone. Joe Dante's Explorers was similarly rushed. "[The production house] ruined it by releasing it before it was finished, then didn't support it with advertising—so it bombed and they lost a fortune. It's charming but it just isn't what it could have been," Dante had said.
'Don Quixote' was in limbo after Orson Welles's demise
Orson Welles's Don Quixote was similarly cursed and crushed after Welles spent a large part of his life furnishing, producing, directing, and putting it all together. Screenrant's report says that some Spanish producers collected "some of the footage and put together a rough cut running 116 minutes [after Welles died] though they did not have access to all of Welles's footage."
What went wrong with 'Dark Blood'?
Dark Blood features actor-musician River Phoenix in his last role and at the time of his death in 1993, it was reportedly 80% finished, so replacing him with another actor would have meant higher expenses for the studio. Director George Sluzier finally located the reels in 2011 from the production's insurance company and it premiered in 2012, with the gaps filled in through voiceovers.
Closer home, this film was cursed similarly
On Koffee With Karan, Akshay Kumar explained how Meri Biwi Ka Jawaab Nahin, co-starring Sridevi, never had a proper climax. "She and I hold hands and we say that we will take revenge...but we did not shoot the revenge part. A text on the screen reads Un dono ne milke phir badla liya (They both later take their revenge), and the film ends."
More trivia about the Kumar-Sridevi starrer
Per a report by Scroll, the climax was later added to the film, but only as an afterthought, and neither Sridevi nor Kumar featured in the shot. Hence, the makers went ahead with a shot stitched together with the help of body doubles. Stuck in limbo for a long time, it was released a decade later after its supposed "completion."
