Malayalam movie L2 Empuraan, which hit theatres on Thursday, will undergo 17 cuts amid the controversy over its references to the 2002 Gujarat riots, the film’s production team has confirmed. The new version will be released in theatres next week. Some scenes depicting violence against women and riots would be cut, the name of the antagonist Baba Bajrangi will be changed and certain dialogues will be muted, it is learnt.
Gokulam Gopalan, the producer, had earlier said the film had cleared the Censor and that the cuts were being made so that the sentiments of a section of people would not be hurt. The director, actor-filmmaker Prithviraj Sukumaran, has reportedly agreed to the cuts.
The Mohanlal-starrer is the second movie in the Lucifer trilogy and has already become the first Malayalam movie to cross the 86 crore mark in two days of release. The film has, however, made the headlines for the political uproar it has triggered.
The BJP has not launched a protest against the movie, but state party chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said he was disappointed and that he would not watch it.
“I had watched Lucifer and had liked it. I had said that I would watch the movie Empuraan when I heard it was a sequel to Lucifer. But now I have come to know that the makers of the movie themselves have made 17 amendments in the movie and that the movie is undergoing re-censorship. I understand that there were topics in the movie that disturbed Mohanlal fans and other viewers,” he has said. “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. So, will I watch this sequel to Lucifer? No. Am I disappointed by this type of moviemaking? – Yes,” he added.
BJP leader and former Union minister V Muraleedharan said the party has clarified its stand. “As a film lover and somebody who enjoys the film, each individual can have their opinion. I have not yet seen the film. As regards the party stand, the state president has said very clearly. I don’t think I should go beyond that and defy the state president because he is the final authority as regards matters related to the state,” he said.
K Ganesh, state general secretary of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, has called for an investigation into Prithviraj’s “foreign connections” and said his movies follow an “entirely anti-national” pattern”.
The BJP’s ideological parent RSS has published in its mouthpiece Organiser an article criticising L2 Empuraan as a “disturbing, divisive tale disguised as cinema”. “Empuraan isn’t just a bad film, it’s an attack on faith, on political plurality, and on the very soul of balanced storytelling,” the article reads. A section of social media users have slammed the movie, Prithviraj and Mohanlal.
The Congress has backed the movie and said the criticism showed the “intolerance” of Sangh Parivar. He said movies such as ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ and ‘Emergency’ were critical of the Congress Party, but the BJP had welcomed them. Movies, the Congress veteran said, always discuss politics. “That will be favourable for a section and against some others. These are all part of freedom of expression. The BJP should introspect whether it is right to show intolerance only when they are criticised,” he told reporters.
Senior CPM leader and Kerala minister V Sivankutty said the 2002 riots were part of Indian history and generations would know about it even if “scissors are used” to cut scenes. “Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of democracy. Any action to prevent it should be opposed,” he said.
