What Are The 24 Cuts Made In Empuraan?
Amid backlash from extremist right-wing groups, Mohanlal and Prithviraj’s Empuraan is currently undergoing re-edits. While initial reports claimed there were going to be 17 cuts, the latest certificate issued by the Censor Board of Film Certification states that the re-edited version of Empuraan has 24 cuts.
The revisions are said to amount to 2 minutes and 8 seconds of content with changes made to the name of the main antagonist and other visuals related to the depiction of the 2002 Gujarat riots in the film.
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The biggest change will be switching the name of Baba Bajrangi (played by Abhimanyu Singh), referred to as ‘Bajrangi’, to ‘Baldev’. The change follows after criticism by right-wing groups that the character referenced the original name of a figure associated with the Gujarat riots: Babu Bajrangi.
Babu Bajrangi is a notorious criminal and former leader of the Bajrang Dal, a right-wing organisation. He was convicted for leading the horrific Naroda Patiya massacre, where 97 Muslims were murdered and women were gang-raped entering their homes, but eventually was acquitted in 2023.
Other edits include muting any mentions of NIA in scenes. Actor-politician Suresh Gopi’s name will also be removed from the movie’s ‘thanks’ card. The BJP minister had reportedly helped the filmmakers during production but, following the backlash, had requested for his name to be removed.
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Along with Gopi, the name of Jyothi Mohan, IRS, Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, Kochi, will also be removed from the ‘thanks’ card.
Several visuals of violence against women during the depiction of the Gujarat riots scenes will be completely removed along with visuals of dead bodies.
Other major alterations include the removal of shots showing a religious symbol during the riot scenes, where a group of people were travelling in a vehicle. Certain visuals of a religious structure in some scenes have also been deleted.
Conversations between Bajrangi and his partner, Munna (Sukant Goel), and Zayed (Prithviraj) and his father, Masood Azhar (Satyajit Sharma), have been trimmed. These changes were reportedly suggested by the filmmakers.
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Despite right-wing backlash, the political thriller surpassed Rs 100 crore in less than 48 hours. The film secured the title of the biggest global opening for an India with Rs 165 crore in its kitty in the first four days.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and several other state politicians expressed their solidarity with the Empuraan team and defended the contents of the film. Meanwhile, several others praised the film for its bold exploration of political and communal issues, with some describing it as a sharp critique of right-wing extremism and its effect on India’s secular fabric.
