ED raids home, offices of industrialist, Empuraan producer Gokulam Gopalan

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday (April 4) conducted searches at the chit fund company premises of Kerala-based businessman Gokulam Gopalan, one of the producers of the movie 'L2: Empuraan', as part of an alleged Rs 1,000 crore foreign exchange violation case, official sources said.

The searches are being undertaken at five premises in various states, including in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and Kochi (Kerala), under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the sources said.

The action is being undertaken against Gopalan and his company Sree Gopalan chit and Finance Co. Ltd. for alleged FEMA violations of Rs 1,000 crore with certain NRIs and some related "unauthorised" transactions, the sources.

The agency is also understood to be analysing some "cheating" cases against the company for possible investigation under the anti-money laundering law.

Film re-released with 24 cuts

Following fierce backlash from the right-wing groups, 24 scenes have been removed from Empuraan after its release. Apart from that, the filmmaker has made several changes in the movie, including the main villain’s name from Balraj Bajrangi to Baldev. Union minister Suresh Gopi's name has also been removed from the “thank you” slide reportedly following his request for the same.

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Scenes such as a vehicle passing in front of religious symbols and some dialogues between the two main negative characters have been removed. References to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the film were also muted.

Moreover, scenes at the beginning of the movie depicting violence against women, visuals of bodies, and conflict were also removed. A scene involving a child actor portraying Prithviraj’s younger self, including a conversation with his on-screen father, has been trimmed. Certain dialogues by actor Nandu, who plays a minister in the film, have also been cut.

What producer said

Meanwhile, ‘L2: Empuraan’ producer Antony Perumbavoor on Tuesday said that a little over two minutes of scenes have been deleted from the movie.

Speaking to reporters in Kochi, Perumbavoor said the decision to carry out the edit was a joint one of all the producers and actors, including Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran, and it was not out of fear of anyone.

“There is no question of being scared. We live in a society. We never intended to do anything which would hurt the sentiments of anyone. If someone is unhappy with the film, then as producers, directors and actors of the movie, we all have the responsibility to address that grievance.”

“So, we all jointly decided to carry out the edits. Around two minutes and some seconds worth of scenes have been removed,” he said.

(With agency inputs)