Thiruvananthapuram: The producers of the controversial movie L2: Empuraan, starring Malayalam superstar Mohanlal, Tuesday said that the film will undergo 24 cuts, especially the scenes that depicted the 2002 Gujarat riots that showed some of the Hindutva organisations in poor light.
The voluntary deletions requested by the producers themselves following a massive campaign by Hindutva supporters against the film, have been approved by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
Addressing the media for the first time after the controversy broke out, L2: Empuraan producer Antony Perumbavoor, said Tuesday, that nearly two minutes of footage have been removed from the film after a backlash over several scenes that appeared to depict the 2002 Gujarat riots.
He further added that they did not make edits under any pressure. "We did not do this under pressure. We are people who would like to make corrections if our cinema hurts even any one common man," he said and clarified that there were no rifts between actor Mohanlal and director Prithviraj Sukumaran.
"The edited version with cuts will be screened in theatres from today (April 1). The cuts are for a duration of two minutes and a few seconds," Perumbavoor said.
A total of 2 minutes and 8 seconds have been cut from the film, the longest single edit being a 29-second scene depicting violence against women. Other major changes include deletion of scenes which showed tractors and other vehicles passing through the front of religious structures and the year of the riots.
The riots shown in the film reportedly refers to the violence unleashed against minorities during the Godhra in 2002 riots. Empuraan producers had named one of the key figures involved in the riot as Balraj Patel, widely seen as a reference to Babubhai Patel alias Babu Bajrangi, who received life imprisonment for his role in the communal violence. The name Balraj Patel has been changed to Baldev, in the new version.
Two thanks cards, one naming Union minister Suresh Gopi and another mentioning Jyothis Mohan, an IRS officer, have also been removed.
Scenes mentioning Sangh Parivar politics, as well as references to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), were also removed from the film.
Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court dismissed a petition seeking a ban on the movie. The issue was also raised in Parliament Tuesday by MPs from Kerala. But the Speaker rejected any discussion on the topic.
