Mohanlal starrer L2 Empuraan to undergo 17 cuts after Gujarat riots' references trigger row
Thiruvananthapuram/IBNS: Superstar Mohanlal starrer 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.
According to reports, some scenes depicting violence against women and riots would be removed, the name of the antagonist Baba Bajrangi would be changed, and certain dialogues would be muted.
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 and actor Prithviraj Sukumaran has reportedly agreed to the cuts.
It is the second movie in the Lucifer trilogy and has already become the first Malayalam film to cross the 86 crore mark in two days of release.
However, the film has made the headlines for the political uproar it has triggered.
The BJP has not launched a protest against the film.
State party chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar said he was disappointed with the film and would not watch it.
"I had watched Lucifer and had liked it. I 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 reportedly 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.
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