Former DGP R Sreelekha slams 'Empuraan' makers, says she wanted to leave theatre midway

Former DGP R Sreelekha has slammed the Mohanlal-starrer 'Empuraan', claiming that the film sends out a wrong message to society. She also cautioned children against watching the movie owing to the film's excessive violence.

The former IPS officer questioned Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's decision to take his grandson to watch the film. She also criticised the film for sending out a message that Kerala would be ruined if BJP comes to power and the state could only be saved by a notorious criminal and international arms dealer. 

Sreelekha, who aired her views on her YouTube channel, said she decided to watch 'Empuraan' as she had enjoyed its prequel 'Lucifer' but was unhappy as it tried to spark communal tensions among people in Kerala by hiding certain truths about the Godhra riots. She also claimed that she felt like leaving the theatre midway.  

‘’Empuraan is probably the most-hyped film in recent times. I watched the movie as it isn’t right to say a review without watching it. I didn’t want to watch it and even thought of leaving the theatre halfway through the movie. People criticised 'Marco' for its overly violent scenes. This movie too has scenes that depict extreme violence. But, I don’t see people slamming 'Empuraan' for violence. I decided to watch Empuraan as Lucifer was a good movie and I liked Mohanlal in it. I also consider Prithviraj to be a decent actor," he said.

She also claimed that Mohanlal's recent films have disappointed her. "Mohanlal was one of my favourite actors probably because I was a police officer. However, his latest movies have disappointed me. Empuraan is indeed a movie of international standards made on a budget of Rs 180 – 200 crore; besides, the casting is perfect. Although I didn’t quite enjoy Lucifer in theatre, I felt that certain elements in the film were good when I watched it again on OTT," she said.

The former police officer noted that 'Lucifer' had unmasked the political ploys of modern times in one way or another. She said the characters played by Shivaji and Sai Kumar depicted the leaders of the IUF and RMP parties. She also highlighted how a private individual named Manappattil Chandy who acts as a proxy to Mohanlal’s character finances IUF party. Sreelekha stated that the character Govardhan played by Indrajith calls the protagonist Lucifer by establishing him as a gold smuggler and criminal. She confesses that she decided to watch 'Empuraan' as she was curious to know about what happens next and also because the movie had created a lot of hype. 

‘’I watched the movie before the film was re-edited. There are several scenes depicting violence against children and women. These scenes were deliberately included to misrepresent the politics in Kerala or to mislead those who believe in politics here. The movie has lots of scenes or dialogues that suggest that Kerala would be devastated if BJP or anything representing saffron gets into Kerala.

The character Jathin Ramdas who is the Chief Minister and leader of IUF joins hands with Akhanda Shakti Morcha which symbolises BJP. The expressions of shock and dejection shown on the faces of various characters when Jathin announces a new party along with Akhanda Shakti Morcha are pretty evident and palpable. Meanwhile, in 'Lucifer,' the channel owned by IUF is finally bought by Stephen Nedumpally. He pays the channel’s debt of Rs 43 crore in just one click so that it will support Jathin who is the son of PK Ramdas. It was Bobby who had been financially supporting the channel until then; Bobby’s character is later killed in the movie. In 'Lucifer,' Mohanlal repeats the dialogue ‘narcotics is a dirty business’ from his own movie 'Irupatham Noottandu.' However, Mohanlal’s character constantly murders people to stop the narcotic business," she said, adding that such scenes expose the hypocrisy of the makers.