New Delhi: Malayalam superstar Mohanlal’s L2:Empuraan has landed in controversy for its references to the 2002 Godhra train burning incident and the riots that followed. A section of the audience has labelled the film an ‘anti-Hindu’ propaganda. The Prithviraj Sukumaran-directed movie also has scenes that seem to reference the Bilkis Bano gangrape case.
And now, Mohanlal fans are ‘disappointed’ in the actor for being part of a movie like this. A few are even calling for him to be stripped of his honorary Lieutenant General rank.
An X user who watched the movie titled his thread ‘The Day My Heart Broke at the Theatre’ before launching into a tirade against Mohanlal and the movie.
He even shared the image of a seemingly empty hall, saying that the audience has rejected the ‘propaganda’ film. However, the film has grossed Rs 22 crore on the opening day.
Some users even posted images of the tickets they had cancelled after hearing about the film’s content.
I Cancelled my booked tickets not only basis this review but few others also mentioned about such crap biased narration against Bajrang Dal, ED, Central Govt etc…@Mohanlal feel bad that you sided with such propaganda folks https://t.co/w7GVrAjtE2 pic.twitter.com/d0YAQSEbpM
— NKR Iyer (@NarayananKR777) March 27, 2025
Others blamed the audience for going and watching the movie. “My issue is not the movie or the actors cos I expect them to be anti-Hindu only.. My issue is the Hindus who will go and watch this movie! Those are the ones you must be careful with!” wrote the user.
A complete anti Hindu propaganda film… #Empuraan pic.twitter.com/xear7FCvae
— Jegan (@jegantoons) March 28, 2025
L2: Empuraan is the second instalment in a planned trilogy. It follows the 2019 film Lucifer and delves into a socio-political drama, with Mohanlal’s character, Khureshi-Ab’raam, aka Stephen Nedumpally, at the centre of it.
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What’s in it?
One of the scenes of the movie shows a village with Muslim population being attacked by a Hindu mob, and a pregnant Muslim woman being raped by a Hindu man. This seems 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. Baba Bajrangi, the antagonist who leads the mob in the movie, appears to be a reference to Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for masterminding the Naroda Patiya massacre.
Another scene in the film shows a major political party merging with a pro-Hindu party, and how it is a threat to Kerala’s culture and ethos.
The 180-minute film begins with around 15 minutes of this communal flare-up.
It sets up the characters of Bajrangi (Abhimanyu Singh) and his accomplice Munna (Sukant Goel). Bajrangi, after spearheading the violence, becomes a kingmaker with the power to create and topple governments.
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BJP reactions
It’s not just Mohanlal and Prithviraj who are facing the heat. BJP leader and the party’s Kerala State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar is under fire. He had shared a post on X extending his best wishes to the Mohanlal-Prithviraj team on the film’s release. Several people are now criticising the leader for supporting the film.
A user even dug up a photo of Mohalal with PM Narendra Modi from 2018. “Modi ji must be regretting this tweet now. The same Mohanlal has stabbed Modiji by making PM Modi and Amit Shah as villains in his latest movie.”
Kerala BJP leader MT Ramesh had a different stance on the ongoing criticism. “A film should be seen as a film. The people of Kerala have the common sense to do so,” said Ramesh.
People are also calling out director-actor Prithviraj Sukumaran.
“Prithviraj Sukumaran has demonstrated the art of creating a Class-A propaganda film,” wrote an X user. He, like many others online, has expressed that he feels “betrayed” by Mohanlal.
However, many others have lauded the film for its stance.
‘It was refreshing to see a mainstream mass masala film take an unambiguous stand against majoritarian communalism at a time when most Indian films of its kind actively pander to it,’ wrote one user.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)