All references to the Gujarat riots have been removed from L2: Empuraan, dubbed “anti-Hindu” and “anti-BJP” by the Sangh Parivar, with the Malayalam film being subjected to 24 cuts that have reduced its duration by around
2.08 minutes.
The makers of the blockbuster had last week buckled under pressure in the face of a Hindutva hate campaign and agreed to modify 17 scenes and mute several “controversial” dialogues.
Superstar Mohanlal, who stars in the film and is considered close to the BJP-RSS, had on Sunday apologised for the “distress” caused to his fans by his film.
Antony Perumbavoor, one of the three producers of L2: Empuraan, told the media in Kochi on Tuesday that the decision to carry out the edit was jointly taken by all the producers and actors, including Mohanlal and director Prithviraj Sukumaran.
According to Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) documents, which are available with The Telegraph, the scenes depicting the Gujarat riots have been removed. The name of the antagonist Baba Bajrangi, whose character is believed to have been modelled on Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi, has been changed to Baldev. Babu Bajrangi was the kingpin behind the Naroda Patiya massacre.
In a scene where Bajrangi and another character are seen engaged in a conversation, the name of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been muted.
A scene showing a tractor passing by a religious structure has also been dropped, along with the scenes depicting violence against women, violence in general and bodies lying scattered. A television news visual has also been chucked.
The name of BJP leader and Union minister Suresh Gopi has been removed from the film’s credit roll on his request.
According to T. Nadeem Thufail, regional officer of the CBFC in Thiruvananthapuram, the film’s duration has been brought down to 177.44 minutes from 179.52 minutes following the cuts.
On Tuesday, Mohanlal claimed that L2: Empuraan had entered the ₹200-crore club within five days. Before this, Manjummal Boys had grossed ₹240 crore.
Touted to be one of the costliest productions of Malayalam cinema, L2: Empuraan is a sequel to the 2019 hit Lucifer. It was released last Thursday.
No HC stay
Kerala High Court on Tuesday declined to issue any interim order putting on hold the screening of L2: Empuraan.
Justice C.S. Dias issued a notice to the Centre and the censor board seeking their stand on the plea by Thrissur native V.V. Vijeesh, who claimed that continuing to show the movie posed the risk of inciting communal violence and disturbing public order.
It listed the matter for hearing after the vacation.
The court also questioned whether the petition was filed in public interest by the petitioner.
During the brief hearing, the court pointed out that no case was filed anywhere against the movie.
Additional reporting by PTI