Actor-director Prithviraj Sukumar’s mother has come out in his defence amid the ongoing controversy around his latest film L2 Empuraan. The film’s makers have agreed for re-censorship with 17 new cuts in the film in order to remove ‘offensive’ scenes about the Gujarat riots. 

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The film, which stars Mohanlal and Prithviraj, has been facing backlash ever since its release on Thursday and now the Mallika Sukumaran has spoken in Prithviraj’s defence, claiming some people want to make him a ‘scapegoat’ in the controversy. 

 Mallika Sukumaran defends son Prithviraj

On Sunday, Mallika Sukumaran took to her Facebook account to share her disappointment over the criticism her son has been facing over the film. She highlighted how there are claims that Prithviraj had allegedly misled superstar Mohanlal and the film's producers.

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 “This is a mother's pain. There is no point in someone making fun of me for speaking openly about it. Neither Mohanlal nor the producers have said that Prithviraj cheated them. I don't think they will ever say that. Mohanlal is like my younger brother. I have known Lal since childhood. Mohanlal has praised my son on many occasions. But it is very sad that some people are trying to make my son a scapegoat without the knowledge of Lal or the producers. Director Prithviraj has not cheated anyone associated with this film or any film. He will never do so,” she wrote.

Clarifying that Prithviraj did not mislead anyone, Mallika stated that the story's narrative and tone were known to the entire team, including the writer Murali Gopy and star Mohanlal, as they were involved in script revisions throughout.

 Salman Khan’s Sikandar vs. Mohanlal’s L2: Empuraan: Which film is earning more?

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“If you feel that there is any problem with the film Empuraan, then everyone in this group is responsible for it. They all read the script together. They all saw the scenes being shot together, and everyone agreed. If scenes needed to be edited during shooting, writer Murali Gopy was always willing to do so... then how can Prithviraj be solely responsible for it when everything was finalized and the film was released?” read a part of her post.

 She emphasized that Mohanlal and the producers were aware of ‘every shot’ in the film, so there is no question of them being blindsided by the final version as has been claimed. “I want to make it clear that there is not a single shot in Empuraan that neither of them (Mohanlal or the producers) knew about. There is nothing in this film that Mohanlal does not know. Neither of them would say that they were unaware of anything in the film,” she added.

The L2 Empuraan controversy 

Controversy arose from the film's depiction of the Gujarat riots, particularly scenes involving violence against Muslims by a mob of Hindu extremists. Certain sections on X created uproar over the film’s views on the community. The antagonist, Baba Bajrangi (played by Abhimanyu Singh) is shown to be a hardliner who goes from rioter to politician. 

Certain sections on social media also claimed that Mohanlal was not in the knowing about certain parts of the film which had raised eyebrows among the audience.

What is the controversy around Mohanlal-starrer L2: Empuraan?

Mohanlal apologises

On Sunday, following days of backlash and an order to cut 17 scenes from the film, Mohanlal issued an unconditional apology for the scenes on Sunday. The actor acknowledged that certain aspects of the film had caused distress to some of his fans and assured them that the team had decided to remove such references.

Meanwhile, Empuraan's production team announced that they had volunteered to undergo revisions in response to the controversy. According to reports, 17 scenes, including those featuring riot sequences and depictions of violence against women, will be edited out.

'Regret the pain caused' says Mohanlal in apology for uproar over L2: Empuraan

WION’s review of L2 Empuraan

In his review of the film, WION’s Achu Krishnan wrote that the film does not outdo its predecessor but is 'one that will forever be in its shadow.' 

Krishnan, however, adds, "That is not to say that the movie is terrible or boring, but it is a shame that it never lives up to its potential. This is particularly noticeable because there are things that work really well in the movie." Read the full review here