'Mohanlal's L2E: Empuraan is anti-Hindu propaganda film': Fans of Malayalam superstar 'feel cheated', cancel tickets for these scenes

Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran's L2E: Empuraan may have opened to packed houses, but it has also met with a fair share of criticism. Many netizens have taken their disappointment to the internet and slammed the Malayalam superstar for making an 'anti-Hindu propaganda' film. 

Directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran, L2E is the second instalment of the planned trilogy. The socio-political drama centres around Khureshi-Ab’raam aka Stephen Nedumpally (Mohanlal), and it follows the events after its prequel Lucifer (2019). The movie opened in cinemas on Thursday, March 27 with huge anticipation. The film grossed Rs 60 crores worldwide on day one, earning positive reviews from critics and audiences alike. 

However, a section of netizens has slammed L2E makers and even Mohanlal for making a 'propaganda' film that vilifies Hindus. Netizens shared their disappointment on X, writing tweets in a thread. Few even cancelled their tickets after learning the much-criticised scenes. A few fans wrote that they felt 'cheated' and even called for Mohanlal to be stripped of his honorary Lieutenant General rank. One of the netizens slammed Prithviraj, and wrote, "Prithviraj Sukumaran has demonstrated the art of creating a Class-A propaganda film.”

I Cancelled my booked tickets not only basis this review but few others also mentioned about such crap biased narration against Bajrang Dal, ED, Central Govt etc...@Mohanlal feel bad that you sided with such propaganda folks https://t.co/w7GVrAjtE2 pic.twitter.com/d0YAQSEbpM

— NKR Iyer (@NarayananKR777) March 27, 2025

A complete anti Hindu propaganda film... #Empuraan pic.twitter.com/xear7FCvae

— Jegan (@jegantoons) March 28, 2025

What are the scenes that irked netizens? 

The movie starts with 15 minutes of communal riots. It has a reference to the 2002 Godhra train burning incident and the riots that followed. There is a scene in the film where a village of Muslims is attacked by a Hindu mob, and a pregnant Muslim woman is raped by a Hindu man. The said scene is seemingly a reference to the Bilkis Bano case, where 11 men were convicted for the gang rape and murder of several members of a family. 

Characters such as Baba Bajrangi also seem to be a reference to Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for being the brains in the Naroda Patiya massacre. Regardless of the reaction, the film has grossed Rs 100 crore worldwide in two days, and going with the trend, it will become the highest-grossing Malayalam film after Eid.