Panneerselvam demands cuts to L2: Empuraan

After the makers of L2: Empuraan made 24 “voluntary cuts” to the Malayalam film following right-wing backlash, ADMK Workers’ Rights Retrieval Committee’s coordinator O. Panneerselvam demanded that the film undergo further cuts with regard to portions concerning the Mullaperiyar dam.

After the makers of L2: Empuraan made 24 “voluntary cuts” to the Malayalam film following right-wing backlash, ADMK Workers’ Rights Retrieval Committee’s coordinator O. Panneerselvam demanded that the film undergo further cuts with regard to portions concerning the Mullaperiyar dam.

On Tuesday (April 1, 2025), MDMK founder Vaiko wanted the Tamil Nadu government to ban the screening of the film over the same. The Rajya Sabha MP had said there was a reference in the film to a dam in Nedumpally, and a dialogue made a case for demolishing it.

In a statement issued on Wednesday (April 2, 2025), Mr. Panneerselvam, who represents the Bodinayakkanur Assembly constituency of Theni district, which is being served by the Mullaperiyar dam for irrigation and drinking water purposes, cited reported observations of sections of farmers who had complained that the Malayalam film carried “misrepresentation of facts” regarding the dam, which it referred to as the Nedumpally dam.

The film was said to have featured that the dam was facing the danger of getting washed away at any point of time, the scenes of which, according to Mr. Panneerselvam, would damage neighbourly relations between Tamil Nadu and Kerala.