‘Those who backed The Kerala Story, now attack Empuraan’: Mohanlal’s film emerges as political flashpoint 

Incidentally, both the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition Congress have found common ground in praising the film, which they argue “exposes the agenda” of right-wing politics. Meanwhile, right-wing groups have strongly criticised Empuraan, with some branding it “anti-Hindu” and others decrying it as “Hindu-bashing propaganda.”

What the Congress says

The film has received vocal support from Congress leaders, with Kerala Youth Congress president and Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkoottathil condemning the backlash against Mohanlal and director Prithviraj Sukumaran. In a Facebook post, Mamkoottathil wrote that Empuraan had captured the “regional pride of Kerala” much like KGF and Pushpa had done for their respective industries.  Addressing the criticism surrounding the film’s political undertones, he wrote: “The same people who advocated ‘freedom of expression’ for films such as The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story are now attacking Empuraan. Their outrage exposes their own contradictions.” He also slammed what he called an “orchestrated hate campaign” against Mohanlal, adding that no amount of “washing” could remove the stains of past actions—a pointed reference to political controversies.

Kerala Congress vice-president and former MLA V T Balram, however, said he was amused by the reception received by the Malayalam movie with a strong political content.

The Congress’ state unit in a post on X said: “People who have never set foot in Kerala claimed their tax-free ‘C-grade propaganda movie’ was ‘the real Kerala story’…”

People who never stepped foot on Kerala’s soil were saying that a c-grade propaganda movie they released tax-free was the real Kerala story.

Now a world class film Malayalam movie exposed the Sangh agenda and the division they plan in Kerala to capture control of our vast… pic.twitter.com/zfVIKk4PXC

— Congress Kerala (@INCKerala) March 28, 2025

The reference was to The Kerala Story, a 2023 film that alleged large-scale forced conversions of women to Islam—claims that were widely contested and led to heated political debates.

What the right-wing says

Some right-wing media handles, including Sanatana Dharma, have dubbed the film as “anti-Hindu”, saying Prithviraj had deceived Mohanlal and his fans by making such a movie, the PTI reported. Another right-wing platform, Hindu Post, claimed: “Empuraan has revealed itself to be an overt Hindu-bashing propaganda film, portraying Hindus as villains amid the ongoing genocide of Hindus across the subcontinent, including India.”

However, the BJP state unit chose to distance itself from the controversy, with the BJP state general secretary P Sudheer, saying the party is not taking up any campaign against the movie. “The film will go its way, and party will do its work. The party will not be affected by any film. The Sangh Parivar activists have the right to express their views and let the audience decide whether it is good or bad,” he told PTI.

What the left says

Bineesh Kodiyeri, actor and son of late CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, in a post, praised the makers of ‘L2: Empuraan’, saying they “deserved bravery awards for attempting to reveal the present-day reality.” However, some Left-leaning media handles chose not to participate in the debate for “the total negligence in the film about the presence of the Left.”

Despite the political furore, Empuraan has enjoyed a record-breaking opening at the box office, raking in ₹22 crore on its first day in Kerala—an unprecedented feat for a Malayalam film. ‘L2: Empuraan’, which had its worldwide release on Thursday, had 4,500 shows in 746 screens in Kerala alone on the opening day, sources said.

Scriptwriter Murali Gopy, who Sukumaran endorses as his ‘co-creator,’ has dismissed the controversy, saying everyone has the right to interpret the film in their own way. “I will keep total silence on the controversy. Let them fight it out. Everyone has the right to interpret the film in their way,” Gopy told PTI.

Gopy said the film mentions the social and political atmosphere in the country and some people have expressed their views against it and others have accepted it. “Let them interpret it. I will keep mum,” he said.

“The Left is non-existent now. They are there on the extreme right,” he claimed. Gopy had earlier received a bashing for his script for the 2013 film, ‘Left Right Left’, directed by Arun Kumar Aravind, which was a stinging criticism of the leading Left party in Kerala.

(With PTI inputs)