A total of 24 additional deletions and alterations have been carried out in Mohanlal starrer L2: Empuraan after its release. The revisions follow a backlash over the Malayalam film’s alleged portrayal of the 2002 Gujarat riots. The cuts, suggested by the producers themselves, were endorsed by the Central Board of Film Certification on April 1.
The film, directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran, was released in Malayalam and Hindi (dubbed) on March 27. The new re-edited version opened today (April 2).
Among the scenes deleted are those that link the storyline to the Gujarat riots of 2002 and the National Investigation Agency. These scenes had drawn fire from BJP and RSS functionaries apart from some right-wing groups.
The re-censor certificate, issued by the CBFC, states that 24 portions of a total running time of 2.08 minutes were deleted from the film. The name of the antagonist in the film, Balraj, which referenced Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi, is one of the most significant changes. The character has been renamed Baldev in the re-edited version. A display card mentioning the period of the story in the film as 2002 has been replaced by a card which says ‘A few years ago’ in the new version.