Veteran actor Mohanlal, who is set to appear next in Prithviraj Sukumaran’s L2: Empuraan, recently spoke about his career and addressed the setback faced by Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Malaikottai Vaaliban.

In an interview with Galatta Plus, Mohanlal was asked about the film’s box office failure. Responding to this, he said, "The failure doesn’t bother me. It happened..."

Comparing the approach taken for Empuraan, he explained, "For Empuraan, they created a universe. Because they were prepared, they knew the story and that it was a three-chapter film. They knew the characters and planned accordingly. But with Malaikottai Vaaliban, when the story was narrated, it was amazing. However, during the shooting process, it started evolving and slipped out of control. Now, they say they will make it in two parts—why? The length of the film changed, the concept changed, and the entire project capsized."

The actor further elaborated, "I wouldn’t call it a mistake, but rather a miscalculation. The film was shot in a different style; that's his (Lijo) way of filmmaking. But audiences couldn't connect with that pace."

Malaikottai Vaaliban, directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery, was one of the most anticipated films of last year but failed to perform at the box office.

After the massive success of its first instalment in 2019, the Prithviraj Sukumaran directorial 'L2: Empuraan' is one of the highly anticipated movies of 2025. Apart from Mohanlal, the film also stars Tovino Thomas, Abhimanyu Singh, Indrajith Sukumaran, and Manju Warrier, among others.

As per the trailer, the second part of the film delves into social-political drama with Mohanlal's character at the centre. Packed with intensity, the video is a cinematic spectacle with Mohanlal commanding a larger-than-life screen presence as Khureshi-Ab'raam.

The film is expected to offer a gripping glimpse into Khureshi's past and showcase a power struggle within the political party.

L2: Empuraan will be released in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi languages. It is set to release in theatres on March 27.