Opinion | L2 Empuraan: Time To Junk Sponsored Propaganda
The film falters not just in creating a good watchable experience but also in its overall message
If cinema is to be taught as a medium for propaganda dissemination, then the latest Malayalam cinema venture, L2 Empuraan, would be a case study.
L2 Empuraan is a sequel to the 2019 Malayalam film Lucifer. Like the prequel, L2 traces the story of Khureshi Ab’raam aka Lucifer aka Stephen Nedumpally played by the protagonist Mohanlal. However, unlike the prequel, where the political turmoil of Kerala and the enigmatic character of Stephen were at the forefront, the sequel focuses more on the character of Ab’raam aka Lucifer and his global smuggling cartel. The cinema tries to balance the plot of Kerala politics and the global turmoil faced by Ab’raam’s cartel but does justice to neither. It is not only all over the place but does not care to answer about characters and their past.
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Creators didn’t care to explain how an MLA could be the head of an international smuggling cartel. Similarly, there is no explanation for how a small boy affected by riots landed in a terrorist camp. It is agonising to try and figure out reasons when there are none. The film is difficult to watch due to unconnected plots, weak direction, poor screenplay, and forgettable background score. But, no matter how abysmal the movie has been, what is even more disturbing are the messages and narratives promoted in the cinema. For the sake of this article, I will dwell on only four major narratives among a plethora of disturbing narratives. These are the promotion of the Hindu hatred narrative of the pseudo-secular Left, hyphenating riots, Muslim victimhood and terrorism, maligning prestigious state institutes like NIA and an office like the Home Ministry, and promoting the alienation of Kerala through the Centre-state divide. Over and above these narratives, two themes around selective calls for freedom of expression and the political agenda of creators are also analysed.
First, the political and narrative landscape of Kerala is left infested, which goes all out to promote pseudo-secularism and Hindu hatred. Empuraan is a clear example of this. Empuraan has a subplot linked to the Gujarat riots of 2002, where the survivor of the riots, Zayed Mazood, played by Prithviraj Sukumaran, is seeking revenge from the perpetrator of the riot, Balraj aka Bajrangi, played by Abhimanyu Singh. Naming the main antagonist Bajrangi, which is the name of Lord Hanuman, shows a clear anti-Hindu mindset.
Furthermore, the film gives no impetus to the train burning of Godhra, where multiple innocent pilgrims were burned alive, while focusing on the heinous riots that followed. One feels no sympathy for a Hindu pilgrim burned alive. The cinema instead shows the brutality of the riots to elicit sympathy. Elderly Muslim women are killed and pregnant Muslim women are raped. Such exaggerated scenes depict Hindus in a bad light. I would go on to say that the cinema promotes hatred towards Hindus through such scenes, which are exaggerated depictions.
Moreover, the makers wanted to imply that the riots were state sponsored, depicting the main antagonist to rise the ranks to become a key central leader. It’s an obsolete narrative that has already been debunked by the courts of the country but, the makers perhaps don’t value the courts and their judgments. Perhaps, for them, there is no alternative to this narrative to seed division. They need to move on because the nation has certainly done so. The movie also shows that the victim of the riots is seeking revenge two decades later. The cinema even glorifies this urge for revenge through a concluding dialogue, “Jo badle se khush ho wo Insaan" (Hindi dubbed version).
Secondly, though riots are extremely heinous as crimes, the linking of riot victims to terrorism was forcefully put in the film. There have been a few incidences in the past, but putting it in mainstream cinema just fuels hatred. This is a narrative peddled by the Left through which it justifies terrorism and Muslim victimhood. The cinema showcases a riot-affected child who ends up in a terrorist camp for which there was no valid justification. It was random propaganda seeding through a sub-plot. The question that needs to be asked is whether such a plot was introduced to reinforce communal hatred. Through this sequence, the creators wanted to push across that such riots lead to terrorist activities. It’s simply laughable and questionable how every time a Muslim suffers, he ends up becoming a terrorist. Are the makers trying to prove that every Muslim is a terrorist? Riots are a very local thing, why bring the anti-national angle? Isn’t this maligning the Muslim community?
Thirdly, the film tries to malign an apolitical institution such as the National Investigation Agency (NIA). It is shown how the main antagonist uses the NIA to imprison the local Kerala leader. An explicit depiction of the agency as malicious is pure propaganda. The creators aim to align the population against such agencies. In the past, Kerala has been touted as a prominent ground for ISIS and other terror outfit activities. NIA has done a tremendous job in curbing terrorism in Kerala. Portraying an agency such as NIA in bad light is outright distasteful and anti-Bharatiya. The Censor Board needs to be taken to task for allowing such portrayal on screen. Moreover, the institution of the Home Ministry is shown in a bad light, sanctioning the NIA to conduct such an operation. It also showcases an IB officer (in one of the prominent roles) plotting against the leadership in Kerala and being killed eventually. The cinema celebrates the killing of an IB officer. Also, a laughable plot is around a journalist operating through a Church using a satellite phone for communicating with an IB officer. Absolute randomness. Such is the sort of narrative we are subjected to.
Another key narrative promoted and propagated is that the leaders at the Centre don’t care about the people of Kerala but just want to exploit its resources. The main antagonist, portrayed as one of the key central leaders, is shown focusing on Kerala just for its 600-km-long coastline and its airports for carrying out illegal activities. Similarly, the same antagonist is shown as declaring that he will bomb a dam that will sink the state, killing millions. Such apathy of central leaders is shown brazenly to portray the central leadership in a bad light. The Left ecosystem in Kerala seems to be so highly worried about the rise of the BJP in the state that it had to come up with such a propaganda-based cinema. The extent of the propaganda of the cinema can be gauged from the thematic portrayal of a right-wing party, similar to the BJP, trying to enter the politics of Kerala when the head of the party is the main antagonist. It is shown that the right-wing party is likely to affect the secular fabric of Kerala.
A Church father is also shown to be worried about the entry of the party in the state. Also, the Church is shown to look after children and being a setup of peace, while one just needs to Google to understand the historical involvement of the Church in war, violence, and ethnic cleansing. Empuraan is the use of cinema for creating an alternate reality.
The supporters of Empuraan are crying about freedom of expression and calling for action against its boycott. The same supporters were up in arms during The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story. Both films were very well researched and tried to portray ground reality. On the other hand, Empuraan is a shoddily made propaganda tale that extrapolates events and tries to weave its narrative. However, the film has received support from the chief minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan. Similarly, the film was backed by cultural minister Saji Cherian, industry minister P Rajeeve, and tourism minister PA Mohamed Riyas. I still wonder why the Kerala Story didn’t receive their support. Moreover, the creators, especially Prithviraj Sukumaran, who had earlier worked on a cinema like Jana Gana Mana, is an outright propogandist. He excels in it. Also, the connections of the writer, Murali Gopy, are very well known. Nothing better can be expected out of him.
However, a real disappointment has come from a star like Mohanlal, who has allowed his name to be associated with such a cinema. His choice of acting in Empuraan has been one of the biggest let-downs. His apology is too late to rectify the wrong, especially considering the love, respect, and honour he has received from the nation.
The colossal disappointment that L2 Empuraan has been is difficult to summarise in words. The film falters not just in creating a good watchable experience but also in its overall message. The creators wanted to blame Hindus for the 2002 riots again. The West also uses this narrative to paint Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Hindus in a bad light till date. The movie uses this obsolete rhetoric to tell an evil tale. The intentions of the creators are still unknown. Did the creators want to reinforce communal tensions? Did the creators want to flare ideological tensions? Also, the creators wanted the viewers to detest an agency such as the NIA. What is the motive behind this? Such narratives should no longer be allowed to propagate in society as they are inherently divisive.
The call should be for us viewers to avoid such cinema, which aims to propagate rhetoric promoted by a select lobby for over a decade. The lobby is desperate to find space in the narrative spectrum of Bharat. It is scampering with such movies which are nothing but propaganda junk. As a nation, we need to reject this sponsored propaganda junk.
The author is a columnist and advisor to the Surat Lit Fest, Khajurao Literature Festival, and VESIM Literati Festival, Mumbai. The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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