Following right-wing backlash, makers of Empuraan to make 17 ‘voluntary cuts’

Following a massive online backlash from right-wing supporters over what appears to be references to the 2002 Gujarat pogrom in Mohanlal-starrer L2: Empuraan, directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran, the makers of the film are considering ‘‘voluntary cuts’’ in the content, a producer closely associated with the makers of the film told The Hindu. Seventeen cuts are being considered, including a change in the name of Baba Bajrangi, the antagonist who leads a mob, which appears to be a reference to Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi who was sentenced to life imprisonment for masterminding the Naroda Patiya massacre during the 2002 pogrom.

Following a massive online backlash from right-wing supporters over what appears to be references to the 2002 Gujarat pogrom in Mohanlal-starrer L2: Empuraan, directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran, the makers of the film are considering ‘‘voluntary cuts’’ in the content, a producer closely associated with the makers of the film told The Hindu.

Seventeen cuts are being considered, including a change in the name of Baba Bajrangi, the antagonist who leads a mob, which appears to be a reference to Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi who was sentenced to life imprisonment for masterminding the Naroda Patiya massacre during the 2002 pogrom.

Any film, which is already censored, can be submitted for voluntary deletions or additions by the makers. “Since there is a lot of pressure on them at present, they have decided to make some cuts,” said the source.

According to sources from the regional office of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) that The Hindu spoke to, the office has not yet received any application for voluntary modifications. However, since the next working day for the office is Tuesday, the film is likely to play without any cuts at least until that day. The reports of the possible cuts have led to an outpouring of anger on social media platforms against attacks on freedom of expression. In the first round of censoring before the release, only two cuts were made, one related to sexual violence and a dialogue related to the national flag.

Although BJP’s Kerala leaders said on Saturday that the party is not part of any campaign against the movie, many associated with the party continued to make statements against it. On Saturday, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s mouthpiece Organiser published an article accusing the makers of “exploiting post-Godhra riots to push an anti-Hindu political agenda that poses a serious threat to societal harmony.”

Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha State general secretary K. Ganesh said it is reasonable to suspect that Prithviraj is spreading anti-national ideas through his films, motivated by terror ideologies. He demanded that national agencies investigate his links to certain organisations. Some right wing accounts have demanded the Union government to take back the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel in the Territorial Army awarded to Mohanlal. Much of the online backlash was aimed at Prithviraj and Mohanlal, while a few users also named the screenwriter Murali Gopy. The Hanuman Sena has announced a protest in front of a cinema in Kozhikode on Sunday.

Empuraan, which says the events portrayed are all fictional, begins with extensive sequences of a communal flare-up which runs to over 15 minutes. While the images in the title sequences appear to be referencing the burning of a coach of the Sabarmati Express carrying saffron-clad men at the Godhra railway station, the opening scenes depict mob violence in which several Muslims are killed. Some of the sequences appear to be a reference to the Bilkis Bano case in which 11 men were convicted for the gang rape and murder of several members of a family.