Empuraan Row: BJP Leader Moves Kerala HC Seeking Ban On Mohanlal, Prithviraj Sukumaran's Film Over Gujarat Riot References

The controversy surrounding Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran's latest release, L2: Empuraan, refuses to die down as a Bharatiya Janata Party leader has now moved the Kerala High Court seeking an immediate ban on the film. Empuraan courted controversy after viewers claimed that it had scenes alluding to the 2002 Gujarat Riots.

BJP leader VV Vijeesh filed a petition in the Kerala HC on Tuesday seeking a ban on the film. In his petition, he mentioned that the film contains certain scenes referring to the Godhra riots and also a few scenes making "unwarranted remarks" about the defence ministry.

He also claimed that the film has scenes "undermining the integrity and credibility" of central investigation agencies, and that the film could "provoke communal unrest".

Submitting the above reasonings, Vijeesh asked the HC to take immediate action and ban the film to avoid any untoward incident. The matter has not been listed yet.

The film has kicked up a massive storm in Kerala and it escalated after the state's chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, watched the film and batted for "freedom of expression". He also attacked the BJP, RSS and others opposing the film, claiming that they were "unleashing communalism through widespread hate campaigns against the film, its actors and crew".

Meanwhile, Mohanlal issued a public apology for "causing distress" with the scenes in question in the film and wrote, "As an artist, it is my duty to ensure that none of my films are hostile to any political movement, ideology or religious sect. Therefore, I and the Empuraan team are sincerely sorry for the distress caused to my loved ones, and with the realisation that the responsibility for it lies with all of us who worked on the film. We have decided together to remove such themes from the film."

Besides Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran, Empuraan also stars Manju Warrier, Tovino Thomas and Indrajith Sukumaran in key roles. The film has been directed by Prithviraj himself.