‘Why should I fuel it?’: Kerala BJP chief accuses Pinarayi Vijayan of politicising ‘Empuraan’

“The developments related to the movie Empuraan was escalated into a row. The BJP faction is of the opinion that one should regard a movie as it is. Those who watch a film has the right to criticise and express their views. Neither me nor my party has said anything other than this,” the former Union Minister of State for IT said.

Chandrasekhar, who shortly after the release of the film expressed his desire to watch it, shifted his stance as the row kicked up. Chandrasekhar’s change in stance came after a meeting with national BJP chief JP Nadda.

Commenting on his retraction from watching the movie and disappointment, Chandrasekhar said, “As a Mohanlal fan, I wanted to watch the film as its the sequel of Lucifer. However, even Mohanlal is disappointed over the film.” Film star Mohanlal recently apologised after the row kicked up.

While the BJP has not officially condemned the movie, Hindutva organisations and party leaders have expressed their dissent, with many raising concern over the film’s alleged reference to the 2002 Gujarat riots. He added that the BJP is never against freedom of expression. One has the freedom to say whether they have liked the film or not.

In response to the row, the film’s producers decided to make voluntary changes to the movie, which had already hit theatres. Gokulam Gopalan, one of the film’s producers, had said if any dialogue or scene in the movie had offended viewers, he had asked director Prithviraj Sukumaran to make the necessary modifications.

Chandrasekhar said, “The producers of the movie are behind the re-release of the film and I have come to know about this through social media. I am not aware of the mandates related to the censorship of the film.”

Further, Chandrasekhar clarified that BJP is of the stance that a film should be regarded as it is. “It’s not history and when history is interpreted wrongly in the film people will question it. There will be criticism.

An article published on the RSS-affiliated website ‘Organiser’ criticised Empuraan, questioning whether the film was using cinema as a “platform for divisive political agendas.”