Empuraan producer Anthony Perumbavoor has received a letter from the Income Tax Department asking for clarification on purported financial transactions involving his previously funded movies Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea and Lucifer.
The notification is a follow-up to the previous raids in 2022, according to sources in the Income Tax Department. Authorities have made it clear that the newly released and “controversial” movie Empuraan has nothing to do with the present notice or the proceedings. A number of Keralan film producers had their homes and businesses raided by the Income Tax Department in 2022. According to authorities, the searches were conducted on five production firms, including Aashirvad Cinemas, which was purportedly controlled by Anthony Perumbavoor.
IT Probe, Political Heat on Empuraan:
It is also reported that during the preliminary processes, these companies’ purported financial activities from 2019 to 2022 were reviewed. They stated that the department’s follow-up investigations include the most recent notification to Perumbavoor. Following criticism from right-wing fans regarding its political and social themes, L2: Empuraan recently underwent voluntary changes by its creators. In his speech to the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, actor-politician Suresh Gopi denied rumors that the film’s producers were under pressure from censors to cut out 17 parts from the contentious film Empuraan. In the revised version, Gopi’s name has been deleted from the “Special Thanks” section of the movie’s credits.
No Censor Pressure, Says Gopi
In light of the ongoing controversy, Suresh Gopi stated that the choice to cut 17 parts from L2 Empuraan was made by the director, producers, and actor and that there was no pressure on them. I was the first to call the producers and request that my name be removed from the credit at the start of the movie, Gopi added. “There was no censor pressure on the producers of Empuraan,” she said. This is the reality. If it is untrue, I am willing to accept any consequence.
He continued by saying, “The producers and the movie’s star decided to cut out 17 scene from the movie with the director’s OK. They made the choice.What is this spectacle about? It is disparaging the BJP party. Prithviraj Sukumaran directed L2: Empuraan, which released in theatres on March 27 and Mohan Lal in the lead Role.