Empuraan left a mark on a generation about Gujarat riots, says N.S. Madhavan

Mohanlal's L2: Empuraan sparks discussion on Gujarat riots among younger generation, facing backlash for historical references.

Mohanlal-starrer L2: Empuraan has been successful in leaving a mark on a generation that was born after 1987 about the Gujarat riots of 2002, writer N.S. Madhavan has said.

He was attending a discussion titled ‘Kalathe aaranu thiruthunnathu? (Who is correcting our times?)’ with journalist V. Musafar Ahamed at the Kozhikode Town Hall on Tuesday. It was part of a series of panel discussions named ‘Vamsahathya Charithram Murichumattumbol’ (Cutting out the history of a genocide), organised by the Kozhikode Samskarika Vedi in view of the voluntary cuts in Empuraan following right-wing backlash against references to the riots.

Mr. Madhavan claimed that those who were around 15 at the time of the Gujarat riots might not have been aware of what happened there. “People who are aged 38 or below that now, at least 60% of the population in the country, have only heard about it. In north India, there is not much of student and youth politics. Also, since 2014, those who are in power in Delhi have conveniently avoided any discussion on it. Empuraan brought forth some facts about the genocide, which have been cut out from history,” he said. Mr. Ahamed said many youngsters were now evincing a keen interest in watching Final Solution, a 2004 documentary by Rakesh Sharma on the incident.

Mr. Madhavan pointed out, however, that the Hindutva forces neither hit the streets in protest against the movie nor engaged in any violent actions, but limited their opposition to the online media. “Because they knew that if public protests were held, it would remind a large section of our population again about the riots. They knew that it could become counter-productive,” he said. The Central Board of Film Certification, which has BJP-appointed members, must not have paid much attention to the movie as the lead actor is reportedly close to their party, Mr. Madhavan observed.

Asked about why the makers of the movie resorted to voluntary cuts, he said the ongoing cyber bullying against its cast and crew could have been a reason. Mr. Madhavan, meanwhile, also criticised the implicit message of violence in the movie, which showed the character played by Prithviraj Sukumaran taking revenge against the perpetrators of the riots.