Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan voiced support for the movie "L2: Empuraan" today, and accused the Sangh Parivar of fostering an "atmosphere of fear" over the film. The film had sparked a huge row after its release on Friday, with right wing activists claiming the film was "anti-national" objecting to certain scenes.
The Organiser, the mouthpiece of the BJP's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, accused it of promoting an 'anti-Hindu agenda' by refering to the 2002 riots in Gujarat.
In a Facebook post today, calling "Empuraan" a milestone for Malayalam cinema, Mr Vijayan noted that the movie references one of the "most brutal genocide in India's history".
"News has come out that producers are being forced to re-censor and cuts of the movie under this pressure," read a rough translation of his vernacular post.
"This atmosphere of fear created by Sangh Parivar is worrying. The situation where communal elements are able to devalue a work of art and vilify artists just because they have taken a stand against communalism and portrayed its terror is not abomination to democracy," he added.
"The freedom of expression of a citizen should be protected in a democratic society. Violent calls to destroy and ban artwork and artist are new manifestations of fascist attitude. That is a violation of democratic rights," he added.
Malayalam superstar Mohanlal has issued an apology on Facebook. He expressed regret over the "emotional distress" caused by the film and confirmed that the contentious scenes would be removed.
"I understand that certain socio-political themes introduced in the making of 'Empuraan', the sequel to the 'Lucifer' franchise, have caused considerable mental distress among some of my loving fans. As an artist, it is my duty to ensure that none of my films harbour hatred towards any political movement, ideology, or religious group," he wrote.
"We, the 'Empuraan' team and I, sincerely regret the distress caused to our beloved viewers. We acknowledge our collective responsibility and have decided to remove the objectionable content from the film," he added.
Kerala BJP chief and former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has publicly said he would not watch the film, accusing it of distorting facts.
Leaders of the RSS, including J Nandakumar and A Jayakumar, also voiced their disapproval. The group had also called director Prithviraj Sukumaran as a divisive figure.
Several RSS-affiliated cyber handles in Kerala have echoed the sentiment, pointing to the film's political messaging.
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