The Hays Code’s Shadow on ‘Empuraan’

Storming the box office, the re-edited ‘L2: Empuraan’ has become the highest-grossing film in Malayalam cinema history, now nearing the 300-crore mark. Mollywood's most anticipated movie offers much more for film enthusiasts, with its stunning cinematography and action set pieces making it feel like a Hollywood blockbuster.

‘Empuraan’ has been making headlines across India ever since it hit the theatres. Beyond its theatrical success, does this political thriller signal a shift in the global outlook of Malayali audiences, reflecting the recent transformations within Kerala society? Furthermore, what should we make of the political controversies it has sparked?

Global ‘Empuraan’
The Malayalam film industry has long been celebrated for its grounded, realistic storytelling – films that capture the many hues of everyday life. Can anyone deny the countless moments when Mollywood has mirrored the joys, sorrows, and silent struggles of the common people?

Here enters the Empuraan difference: a global hero, more like a Kerala James Bond, whose presence resonates across national borders, igniting a brand-new imagination in the typical Malayali audience.

Murali Gopi’s sprawling storyline stretches far beyond Kerala and key Indian locales like Gujarat, unfolding across Asia, Europe, and Africa. Weaving Empuraan's plot, rooted in the politics of a small state in south-western India, into such a vast global canvas is nothing short of a daring cinematic leap.

At one level, the resounding success of ‘Empuraan’ is also a reflection of a society in transition.

Kerala society has undergone phenomenal transformations in recent years, especially in terms of international migration. With many already settled outside the state and countless others aspiring to migrate, migration is more a movement than a trend. The growing global presence of Malayalis was best reflected in last year’s central theme of the Loka Kerala Sabha – Lokamake Keralam.

A defining strength of ‘Empuraan’ lies in how smartly it taps into the transnational positioning of the average Malayali and their increasing global awareness, unbound by the limits of a small state.

Yet, the ongoing controversy over references to the 2002 Gujarat riots and the 24 edits imposed on the original version raises serious concerns about the future of censorship in India. What is particularly troubling is that an all-time blockbuster underwent self-censorship after release, despite having already cleared the country’s stringent, government-driven censorship system.

The ‘Empuraan saga’ echoes Hollywood's dark era under the Hays Code in the 1930s and 1940s, when self-censorship not only determined what could be shown but also dictated what could be seen or even implied on screen.

Hays Code – a moral police
Hollywood, the hallmark of contemporary filmmaking, once succumbed to a moral straitjacket called the Hays Code – formally known as the Motion Picture Production Code. It was a self-imposed ethical framework that guided the American film industry from 1934 onward.

The Hays Code was named after Will H. Hays, a devout Christian who served as the head of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) at the time. His conservative religious outlook of the time heavily influenced the strict moral guidelines of the Hays Code. Pressure from Christian groups, particularly the Catholic Legion of Decency, played a crucial role in establishing a code of conduct for Hollywood.

Under the Hays Code, depictions of homosexuality were labelled as perversion, and interracial relationships were considered taboo – reflecting the era's deeply entrenched white, hyper-Christian, and misogynistic values. Even married couples were not allowed to share a bed on screen – a quirky hallmark of the Code’s obsession with propriety. Ridiculing religion was outright prohibited, along with activities such as 'indecent' dancing.

Though not backed by any government and technically voluntary, nearly all Hollywood movies produced by major studios during the 1930s and 1940s adhered to the Hays Code. The MPPDA at that time was a consortium of major studios that controlled the nation’s top theatres, ensuring its enforcement.

The Hays Code remained in effect until 1968, when it was replaced by the Motion Picture Association’s rating system – G, PG, R, and others. This new system marked a shift from outright self-censorship to audience guidance, a far less restrictive framework that continues in Hollywood today.

Hays Code reborn?
Malayalam cinema has undeniably progressed in this century, but one wonders whether present-day Kerala society is truly ready to embrace the bold themes and characters it explored in the twentieth century.

The self-cuts that ‘Empuraan’ was forced to undergo due to the brewing political controversies over its frontal attack on the Indian right-wing raise a crucial question: Is the Malayalam film industry, long reputed for its progressive cinema, about to enter a phase of self-censorship similar to the Hays Code?

Justifications from Empuraan's production team for a re-edited version after its successful theatrical release point in this direction.

“We are part of society, and we do not intend to create films that hurt anyone. If anyone was hurt by the film, it is our responsibility to correct it. In such situations, it is the duty of the actors, the director, and the producer to step up”, says Anthony Perumbavoor, the main co-producer of the film.

But for anyone who has followed the ‘Empuraan’ row, believing that the re-edit was purely a collective decision, untouched by political pressure, would be nothing short of naive. The final link in this chain of events, the Enforcement Directorate raids on co-producer Gokulam Gopalan's offices across South India, clearly signals where things are heading.

The tragic reality is that even a multi-starrer, big-budget film released with censorship clearance has no choice but to compromise itself just to survive the onslaught of the right-wing – in a country where freedom of expression is a fundamental right.

Empuraan’s dream run at the box office, setting new benchmarks, does not mask the sobering truth about the shrinking space for creative freedom in India’s majoritarian political climate. Even Kerala, once an exception, is now made to abide by.

(Social anthropologist and novelist Thomas Sajan and US-trained neurologist Titto Idicula, based in Norway, write on politics, culture, economy and medicine)