The film 'L2: Empuraan' sparked backlash over scenes linked to the 2002 Gujarat riots, with criticism mainly coming from right-wing groups. The uproar got so intense that even Mohanlal had to step in and apologise for the “emotional distress” caused by the film’s “political and social themes.” Despite all the controversy and social media storms, actor Prithviraj Sukumaran’s action thriller smashed the box office and stayed in the headlines for two whole weeks.

Kerala Transport Minister and actor KB Ganesh Kumar has now spoken up. He claims the strike calls around Empuraan were all part of a political game. Ganesh Kumar, who is also the president of the Association of Television Media Artists (ATMA), said that a few powerful people in the industry knew the film’s plot early on and tried to block its release just to please their political bosses.

In a chat with The Indian Express, he said, “The theme of Empuraan was somehow leaked, and some members of the Kerala Film Producers Association became aware of it. I suspect that they seized the opportunity to impress their political bosses by projecting themselves as those trying to stop the movie’s release. I know the people in the film industry better than anyone else. We often say that politicians have significant foresight and are always one step ahead. But there are people in the industry who are 100 times that.”

A planned move?

He also added, “Some members of the film fraternity grasped the storyline of Empuraan, and a strike was then orchestrated to block its release. I had mentioned this earlier during a press interaction in Abu Dhabi too, that this strike call is pointless. What exactly was achieved through the strike? Do the media and the public look like fools? Did the strike by the producers’ body result in a pay cut for any actor or director? What was the real outcome? Antony Perumbavoor made a Facebook post, the producers’ association demanded that he take it down and he eventually did — was that what the strike was really about?”

Support from family and FEFKA

Earlier, veteran actor Mallika Sukumaran — Prithviraj’s mother — also spoke out. She said the planned token strike on March 27, which was the day Empuraan released, was part of a bigger plan to bring down her son, who directed the film.

While KFPA had been holding monthly press conferences since the beginning of the year to share details on budgets and box office numbers of new Malayalam films, they didn’t support 'Empuraan' during the controversy. It was only the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) that stood by the film, though they did so three days after the issue blew up.

Interestingly, even before the June 1 strike was talked about, there were reports in late February that the KFCC had thought about a token strike on March 27 — the release date of Empuraan. That plan was later called off after talks with Culture and Youth Affairs Minister Saji Cherian.