Veteran cinematographer PC Sreeram has urged director-actor Prithviraj Sukumaran not to make edits to L2: Empuraan despite mounting pressure from right-wing groups. Commending the director-actor for showing the “truth” in the film, he said, “Truth threatens, thus Empuraan stands tall.” He also suggested that the Hindu right-wing's demand for the removal of controversial scenes stems from a sense of guilt. The Mohanlal-starrer has landed in controversy for its portrayal of communal violence, which closely resembles the Gujarat 2002 riots. Terming the depiction ‘anti-Hindu’, several right-wing groups have threatened to boycott the film.
Further, some right-wing members have urged the Union government to revoke Mohanlal’s Lieutenant Colonel rank.
With the campaign against the film gathering momentum, the film’s producers have reportedly approached the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), agreeing to make over 17 cuts, including altering scenes deemed controversial and changing the antagonist's name to mitigate further controversy.
The film’s antagonist, Balraj Patel aka Baba Bajrangi, drew specific criticism due to its resemblance to a real-life figure associated with the riots — Babubhai Patel, also known as Babu Bajrangi. Reports also say that scenes depicting graphic violence against women will be shortened.
Meanwhile, Mohanlal is likely to issue an apology for the controversy according to filmmaker and retired army officer Major Ravi.
Addressing the controversy, Major Ravi defended Mohanlal saying that he never interferes with the script. “He listens to the story once and does not ask for any corrections. I swear he hasn’t watched Empuraan yet, just like he hadn’t seen Keerthichakra before its release. You should trust me when I say he is deeply pained by this controversy,” Major Ravi said in a live stream.
However, he was critical of Prithviraj and Murali Gopy, the scriptwriter of the film. Prithviraj should have been more cautious while handling a sensitive subject, he said, and Murali should have covered the entire incident, from the beginning. “Murali is my friend, but he should have depicted the entire incident from the beginning, showing how the vehicle was burned along with 52 people. If that had been shown, this controversy wouldn’t have arisen. Selectively portraying only Hindu-Muslim violence is communalism, and they should have been cautious about it.”