'It is not because of any threats or pressure by anyone.'
Two days after Malayalam superstar Mohanlal assured that the controversial portions from his recently released film L2: Empuraan would be removed, its Producer Antony Perumbavoor said that a little over two minutes of scenes have been deleted from the movie.
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, Perumbavoor said.
"There is no question of being afraid. 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 jointly took the decision to carry out the edits. Around two minutes and some seconds worth of scenes have been removed," he said.
In response to reporters' queries about whether the decision was taken on someone's direction or due to pressure from some political organisation, Perumbavoor denied the same and clarified that even in the future, if someone was aggrieved by a film they had made, steps would be taken to address it.
"Not just for any party, but even if people are affected, we will take the same steps. It is not because of any threats or pressure by anyone," said Perumbavoor.
There was no need to attack Prithviraj over it, Perumbavoor said.
Perumbavoor confirmed that there will be a third sequel to the Lucifer film.
Major Ravi had recently claimed that Mohanlal had not seen the film prior to its release.
The actor has not reacted to his claim by Ravi.
The decision to carry out the edits was taken despite overwhelming support for the film, its producers and the actors from all quarters, including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan.
However, BJP state President Rajeev Chandrasekhar had said he won't watch Empuraan, adding that he was disappointed by this sort of movie-making.
Mohanlal had earlier expressed regret over the row surrounding the movie and assured that the controversial portions would be removed.
The movie has faced intense criticism from the Sangh Parivar with regard to some portions of the film.
Empuraan has become a topic of hot debate over its critique of right-wing politics and the covert mention of the Gujarat riots.
The Sangh Parivar vehemently criticised the film on social media, while the Congress and Left platforms celebrated the film for portraying the right-wing politics as 'villainous'.
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