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Amid Empuraan controversy, BJP MP-actor Suresh Gopi indirectly drags Mammootty’s name into Parliament: ‘Does the Kairali TV chairman have the guts to…’

Responding to CPI(M) MP John Brittas' statements on Empuraan controversy, Suresh Gopi dared him and Mammootty to have the guts to premiere two films with perceived anti-CPI(M) content through their television channel.

BJP MP and actor Suresh Gopi, who also serves as the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, with Malayalam superstars Mammootty and Mohanlal. (Credit: Facebook/@AMMA)

While the controversy surrounding actor-filmmaker Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Mohanlal-starrer L2: Empuraan continues to grow unabated, with a fresh wave of hate now arriving from Tamil Nadu over its perceived problematic depiction of a dam dispute, the blockbuster action thriller also rocked Parliament on Thursday. Even as several members sparred over the movie’s content, BJP MP and actor Suresh Gopi went one step further by dragging Malayalam megastar Mammootty’s name, albeit indirectly, into the Parliament.

Responding to CPI(M) MP John Brittas’ statements decrying the situation that led to the makers subjecting Empuraan to “voluntary modifications,” Suresh Gopi dared Brittas and Mammootty to have the guts to premiere two films with perceived anti-CPI(M) content through their television channel. For the unversed, Mammootty is the chairman of Kairali TV, a channel purportedly backed by CPI(M), while Brittas serves as its managing director. Although Gopi, seemingly understanding the potential repercussions his comment could have on his relationship with the megastar, quickly added that he didn’t wish to take his name and even called Mammootty a “noble soul,” the damage had already been done.

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“He was talking about Empuraan. Does he dare to have a re-release of TP 51 (a movie based on the life of Revolutionary Marxist Party, RMP, leader TP Chandrasekharan, who was hacked to death in 2012)? Left Right Left (2013)? Two films. Does Brittas, his Kairali channel and its chairman, who is a leading actor in the Malayalam film industry — I do not wish to take his name because he is a noble soul — have the guts (to screen the film)? Does the Kerala CM (Pinarayi Vijayan) have the guts to permit those films to be screened again?” Gopi asked.

The actor-politician, who currently serves as the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, further claimed that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) did not pressure the makers of Empuraan to make any cuts. “There was no censor pressure on the producers of Empuraan. I was the first person to call the producers and ask them to delete my name from the credits displayed at the beginning of the film. This is the truth,” Gopi added.

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“I am ready to take any punishment if this turns out to be false. It was the decision of the producers and the lead actor of the film, with the permission of the director of the film, to remove 17 portions from the movie. It was their decision. Yet, they are defaming my political party,” he added.

Taking offence at Empuraan’s content — particularly the scenes set against the backdrop of the 2002 Gujarat pogrom — right-wing activists had made a hue and cry on social media after the movie’s release, following which the makers were forced to make 27 cuts, amounting to 128 seconds of footage, in the version that was already being screened in theatres. Despite the controversies, Empuraan has already become the second highest-grossing Malayalam film ever and will soon dethrone the record held by Manjummel Boys (2024).

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