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Empuraan's co-producer Antony Perumbavoor announced 24 edits due to viewer concerns, including violent scenes and negative portrayal of NIA. The revised version will be released soon. Empuraan’s controversy has hit the roof.
Amid demands for censorship of some of the content in the film, Antony Perumbavoor, co-producer of Empuraan has announced 24 edits due to viewer concerns. Earlier, it was reported that only 17 cuts will be made to the recently released Malayalam film. The makers have already finished editing the first part of Empuraan.
The second one will begin later in the day. The re-edited version will hit the screens most likely from Wednesday. Among the cuts are the violent scenes featuring a pregnant woman.
The villain’s name has also been changed from Bejarangi to Baldev. After Union Minister of State for Tourism Suresh Gopi requested, his name was deleted from the thank you slide of the film. The film originally portrayed the premier investigating agency, NIA, in a negative light, but in the updated version, that part has been muted.
The certificate also noted that a vehicle displaying certain religious symbols has been removed from the edited version. Additionally, a sequence involving the assault of a woman has been cut. The controversy first started after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh members objected to certain scenes in the film which alluded to the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Perumbavoor clarified that the decision to re-edit the film was a collective one."We don’t make a film on a wrong. The film has been widely accepted, and there is no need for any controversy," he said Perumbavoor.
He further said that the re-edit was not influenced by any external pressure, but was instead a proactive step to address concerns raised by some viewers about the portrayal of the NIA in a negative light. “After we felt that certain sections of the society were unhappy, we decided to take a re-look and arrived at this decision collectively," he added. Refuting speculation that director Prithviraj Sukumaran, who also stars in the film, was being blamed, Perumbavoor clarified that everyone involved, including superstar Mohanlal, was fully aware of the creative decisions.
“There is no reason to single out Prithviraj," he clarified. The controversy began when Empuraan was criticised by Organiser, an RSS-affiliated publication, which first targeted Mohanlal and later shifted its focus to Prithviraj. In response to the backlash, the filmmakers decided to make last-minute cuts.
The revised version is currently being processed by Qube Cinema, which will distribute the updated digital print to all theatres and screening centres. In L2: Empuraan, Mohanlal reprises his iconic role as Stephen Nedumpally, aka Khureshi Ab’raam. This time, with the help of Zayed (Prithviraj Sukumaran), he makes a powerful return from overseas, setting his sights back home.
His mission? To stop Chief Minister Jathin Ramdas (Tovino Thomas) and take control of the game once again..
