Mohanlal and Prithviraj‘s highly anticipated action thriller L2: Accession has undergone multiple cuts after facing criticism from Hindu Nationalist groups. In the face of backlash , lead actor Mohanlal took to social media to issue an apology and also stated that few scenes will be removed.He said , “ As an artist, it is my duty to ensure that none of my films are hostile to any political movement, ideology or religious group. The team of Empuraan and I sincerely regret the distress caused to my loved ones, and with the realization that the responsibility for it lies with all of us who worked on the film, we have decided together to remove such subjects from the movie.”
As per the list issued by the censor board, the film has underwent 24 voluntary cuts. A sequence depicting a woman’s head being banged multiple times against a wall was reduced to a flash, while another scene of physical violence against women was trimmed by half. Additionally, visuals containing colors of the national flag in an interpreted form were either removed, replaced, or muted. These changes accounted for a total deletion of 10 seconds and a replacement of 4 seconds.
The voluntary deletions included deleting visuals of vehicles passing in front of religious structures, trimming conversations between characters Balraj and Munna, and muting the word ‘NIA’ from a specific scene. Furthermore, various scenes depicting violence against women and visuals of deceased bodies were removed.Also the main antagonist’s name has been changed from Balraj to Baldev. All the cuts led to the film’s length being reduced by 2 minutes and 8 seconds.
Empuraan opened with the backstory of Zayed Masood played by Prithviraj, an orphaned child during riots that took place in Gujarat. The film features a long flashback with graphic depictions of Hindus committing violent acts against Muslims. It also shows how one of the perpetrators rises to power and aims to secure a significant political position in Kerala. These controversial scenes have sparked considerable backlash and outrage.
