‘Prithviraj Has Not Cheated Anyone’

‘There
is
nothing
in
this
film
that
Mohanlal
does
not
know.’

Prithviraj
Sukumaran’s
mother
Mallika
Sukumaran
has
defended
her
son
amidst
the
ongoing
controversy
surrounding

L2:
Empuraan.

Mallika
took
to
her
Facebook
account
to
share
her
disappointment
over
the
criticism
her
son
has
been
facing,
particularly
the
claims
that
Prithviraj
had
allegedly
misled
superstar
Mohanlal
and
the
film’s
producers.

‘This
is
a
mother’s
pain.
There
is
no
point
in
someone
making
fun
of
me
for
speaking
openly
about
it.
Neither
Mohanlal
nor
the
producers
have
said
that
Prithviraj
cheated
them.
I
don’t
think
they
will
ever
say
that.

‘Mohanlal
is
like
my
younger
brother.
I
have
known
Lal
since
childhood.
Mohanlal
has
praised
my
son
on
many
occasions.
But
it
is
very
sad
that
some
people
are
trying
to
make
my
son
a
scapegoat
without
the
knowledge
of
Lal
or
the
producers,’
she
wrote.

‘Director
Prithviraj
has
not
cheated
anyone
associated
with
this
film
or
any
film.
He
will
never
do
so.’

Mallika
Sukumaran
clarified
that
Prithviraj,
who
directed

Empuraan,
did
not
deceive
anyone
and
that
all
key
members
of
the
project,
including
writer
Murali
Gopy,
were
involved
in
script
approvals
and
revisions.

‘If
you
feel
that
there
is
any
problem
with

Empuraan,
then
everyone
in
this
group
is
responsible
for
it.
They
all
read
the
script
together.
They
all
saw
the
scenes
being
shot
together,
and
everyone
agreed.

‘If
scenes
needed
to
be
edited
during
shooting,
writer
Murali
Gopy
was
always
willing
to
do
so…
then
how
can
Prithviraj
be
solely
responsible
for
it
when
everything
was
finalised
and
the
film
was
released?

‘I
want
to
make
it
clear
that
there
is
not
a
single
shot
in

Empuraan
that
neither
of
them
(Mohanlal
or
the
producers)
knew
about.

‘There
is
nothing
in
this
film
that
Mohanlal
does
not
know.
Neither
of
them
would
say
that
they
were
unaware
of
anything
in
the
film.’

Empuraan‘s
production
team
has
announced
that
the
film
will
undergo
revisions
in
response
to
the
controversy.

According
to
reports,
17
scenes,
including
those
featuring
riot
sequences
and
depictions
of
violence
against
women,
will
be
edited
out.

Despite
the
backlash,

L2:
Empuraan
has
achieved
remarkable
success
at
the
box
office.

The
film,
which
hit
theatres
on
March
27,
became
the
first
Malayalam
movie
to
gross
Rs
80
crore
(Rs
800
million)
worldwide
on
its
opening
weekend.