Southern Indian Megastar Mohan Lal Feels Sorry And Said Some Scenes May Be Removed From His New Film L2: Empuraan After Criticism From Some Groups
By
Tanveer Zaidi
The Malayalam-language film, L2: Empuraan, was released on Thursday and is enjoying the status of ‘Superhit’ at the box-office.
However, it faced a backlash from Hindu groups, including members Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), over some scenes, including ones seen as referring to the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in the Gujarat state.
“As an artist, I must ensure that none of my films are hostile to any political movement, ideology, or religious group,” Mohanlal wrote on Facebook.
“The team of Empuraan and I sincerely regret the distress caused to my loved ones, and with the realisation that the responsibility for it lies with all of us who worked on the film, we have decided together to remove such subjects from the movie,” added Megastar Mohanlal, who is a household name in Kerala state, which is home to the Malayalam film industry.
The developments have sparked a debate around artistic freedom, with the opposition Congress and Left parties accusing the BJP of putting pressure on the filmmakers.
However, BJP leaders have said that the party did not launch a public campaign against the film and that people have the right to express their views on social media.
L2: Empuraan is a sequel to the 2019 Malayalam political thriller Lucifer, in which Mohanlal played the role of Stephen Nedumpally, a mysterious figure who is later revealed to be the head of an international crime syndicate.
The movie, directed by another Malayalam sta,r Prithviraj, was a big hit and got mostly positive reviews.
So expectations were high for L2: Empuraan, which centers on the return of Mohanlal’s character as a savior of Kerala’s politics, which has fallen into the hands of corrupt and evil people.
Even before its release, the film made headlines over its budget – huge for the relatively understated Malayalam film industry – and star-studded promotions.
It created a buzz across Indian cities and even internationally, with shows being House Full.
The film has made nearly 1.5bn rupees ($17.5mn; £13.5mn) overall in its opening weekend, according to film analytics tracker Sacnilk.
But the film received mixed reviews from critics, many renowned papers have written in praise of the film, some even felicitated L2 : Empuraan with lauds and gave it a status of ‘classic cult’ film.
The Hindustan Times newspaper called it a film grappling with “an identity crisis, an overlong run time and a confused mess of a script”.
The Indian Express said, “the emotional depth and dramatic weight that anchored Lucifer are largely absent in Empuraan,” but praised “Mohanlal’s commanding performance” and some other aspects of the film.
L2: Empuraan begins with the backstory of a character Zayed Masood – played by director Prithviraj – who was orphaned during riots in a place in India, with some of the details being similar to the religious violence that occurred in 2002 when Modi was chief minister of Gujarat state.
The long flashback sequence shows some graphic scenes depicting Hindus committing violent crimes against Muslims during the violence.
It also shows how one of the perpetrators of the violence becomes more powerful over the years andseeksg to secure a key position in Kerala’s political landscape.
The scenes sparked an uproar.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the state president of the BJP, who had wished the film’s team well before its release, later said that he now realised there were “topics in the movie that disturbed Mohanlal fans and other viewers”.
“A movie should be watched as a movie. It can’t be seen as history. Also, any movie that tries to build a story by distorting the truth is doomed to fail,” he said, adding that he would not watch the film.
While some state BJP leaders supported this, others criticised the makers and accused them of depicting “anti-national themes” in the film.
The Organiser Weekly – a magazine published by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is the ideological parent of the BJP – called the film a “disturbing, divisive tale disguised as cinema”.
“Empuraan isn’t just a controversial film; it’s an attack on faith, on political plurality and the very soul of balanced storytelling,” a newspaper said.
Some social media users have also called for a boycott of the film, but there has not been a large-scale online campaign or big protests against the movie.
Over the weekend, Gokulam Gopalan, one of the producers of the film, said he had asked Prithviraj to make changes “if any scenes or dialogues in Empuraan have hurt anyone”.
This was followed by Mohanlal’s post on Sunday which confirmed some scenes would be removed. Prithviraj shared the post on Facebook but did not offer additional comments.
Some reports said the film would see as many as 17 cuts while others said a three-minute long scene would be removed and some dialogues muted. The makers have not confirmed what the changes are.
The film had been cleared by India’s Central Board of Film Certification – known as the censor board – which reviews movies for public exhibition. But makers have the option of resubmitting it for more cuts.
Amid the controversy, L2: Empuraan has also received support from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) – which governs Kerala – and the CongressPartyy. The two parties have a strong presence in Kerala, where the nationally powerful BJP has struggled to make inroads.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the “communal hate campaign against Empuraan and its creators is deeply disturbing”.
“Undermining creative freedom through fear and threats strikes at the very core of democracy,” he added.
“Cinema is the work of a group of artists. Changing the content of a work of art by threatening, insulting, and humiliating through social media is not a victory,” wrote Congress leader VD Satheesan.
Malayalam film superstar Mohanlal expressed regret on March 30 over the distress caused by political and social themes in his new film, L2: Empuraan, the sequel to Lucifer.
His statement of regret follows the backlash by the BJP and RSS over the film’s alleged portrayal of the 2022 Gujarat riots, leading to the Central Board of Film Certification asking for 17 changes.
“As an artiste, I must ensure that none of my films harbors animosity towards any political movement, ideology, or religious group,” Mohanlal posted on Facebook.
“I have come to understand that certain themes introduced in Empuraan have caused distress among many who care for me… We have collectively decided to remove such themes from the movie.”
Meanwhile, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan of the CPM and opposition leader V.D. Satheesan of Congress defended Empuraan, condemning alleged efforts by the Sangh Parivar to force the producers to make changes in the film. The chief minister, who saw the film on Sunday, said on social media,
“I watched it amidst widespread hate campaigns unleashed by the Sangh Parivar and communal forces against the film, its actors and its crew.”
The film, which was released on March 27, has drawn sharp criticism from the BJP and RSS members in Kerala.
They feel, some scenes in the film were “purposefully designed to reinforce the image of Hindus as the primary aggressors during the 2002 riots”.
BJP’s Kerala unit president said that he would not watch the movie as the makers themselves had made 17 amendments, and the film was undergoing re-censorship.
“IuI nderstandn; there were topics in the movie that disturbed Mohanlal fans and other viewers,” he posted on Facebook.
However, the chief minister accused the Sangh-linked groups of attempting to suppress the film for depicting historical realities.
“The film references one of the most brutal genocides the country has seen… functionaries of BJP and RSS are issuing open threats.
It is not a tribute to democracy when communalists can destroy a work of art and viciously attack artists for taking a stand against communalism and depicting its horrors.”
Congress’s Satheesan accused RSS of attempting to distort history. “They believe that freedom of expression means the freedom to create narratives that favour them,” he said.
“It is a sign of utter failure and cowardice. No matter how much one tries to cover it up, historical truths will always stand clear.”
Recently, another controversy was blown. Mohanlal went to Sabarimala, prayed for his colleague Mammootty, and walked out. That should have been the end of the story.
But social media needs its daily dose of outrage and hate, so suddenly, a simple prayer turned into a controversy.
A Hindu praying for a Muslim is newsworthy. For those who don’t know, Mammootty, the living legend, is a muslim.
