Malayalam actor Mohanlal on Sunday expressed regret over the political controversy surrounding his film L2: Empuraan due its alleged critique of right-wing politics, further noting that the makers of the film will remove scenes that have caused “emotional distress”.
The veteran actor’s statements comes a day after it was reported that the filmmakers voluntarily agreed to make 17 changes to the film, including muting several dialogues. The new version is likely to hit theatres this week, people familiar with the development said.
In a social media post, Mohanlal said that certain political and social themes portrayed in the film have caused great “emotional distress” among his fans.
“As an artist, it is my duty to ensure that none of my films produce hate towards any political movement, ideology or religious group,” he said. “Therefore, the Empuraan team and I sincerely regret the emotional distress caused to my loved ones.”
The actor said the filmmakers have collectively decided to remove such portions from the film. “With the realisation that the responsibility for this lies with all of us worked behind this film, we have collectively decided to remove such scenes from the film,” he added.
The film, the second part of the “Lucifer” trilogy directed by Prithviraj, critiques right-wing politics and includes covert references to the Gujarat riots. The row over the film triggered reactions in Kerala over the last two days, with the Congress accusing the BJP of showing intolerance, citing the intense criticism being raised against it on right-wing social media handles.
On Sunday, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said he will not watch the sequel, saying any movie that tries to “build a story by distorting the truth is doomed to fail”.
“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 said in a social media post.
Kerala chief minister and CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday condemned the backlash against the film.
“There have even been reports that the producers are being forced to re-censor and edit the movie under this pressure. This atmosphere of fear created by the Sangh Parivar is a matter of concern,” he said on social media, a day after he watched the film. “The situation where communalists are able to devalue a work of art and vilify artists just because they have taken a stand against communalism and portrayed its terror is not abomination to democracy.”