L2: Empuraan Trailer Looks Exciting!

Empuraan promises a world of geo-political intrigue, drug wars and action spectacle all rolled into one, observes Arjun Menon.

L2: Empuraan, the much-anticipated sequel to 2018's Lucifer, has been the most hyped project from Malayalam cinema for some time now.

The trailer, which runs for three minutes and 51 seconds is a fast-paced fan reel for Mohanlal aficionados and offers a glimpse into the scope of the much-anticipated sequel/prequel project that co-stars Prithviraj Sukumaran, Tovino Thomas, Manju Warrier as well as Game of Thrones actors Jerome Flynn and Eriq Ebouaney. Prithviraj directs the film too.

The trailer starts with a somber voice-over delivered by P K Ramdas, the political patriarch whose untimely death triggered the first film into motion.

We hear the lines, 'My children are not my legacy bearers. Those who bear my legacy by default shall be my children.'

This takes place before the timeline of the original film where we get to see the state machinery toppled by the death of its beloved chief minister and the ensuing power struggles that follow in its wake between the evil son-in-law and the foster son figure 'Stephen Nedumpally', played by Mohanlal.

We are then guided through to the present where we warned by Suraj Venjaramoodu, playing the Opposition leader, that an impending announcement will shake the very foundation of Kerala's secular society.

The trailer takes its sweet time setting up the stakes, characters and revelations about the new political climate in the state.

It introduces the new players who have made their way into the world of mafioso kingpin 'Khureshi-Ab'raam'.

Lucifer itself was an anomaly in the scene of big-ticket films by way of its uniquely political setting and larger-than-life implications involving the drug mafia, crime syndicates, and secret societies.

The filmmakers seem to have left no stone unturned in mounting the sequel, which seems bigger and more visceral in its scale.

The events in the film seem to be unraveling across the world through Iraq, Turkey, France, China, the UK, the US and Senegal among other places.

We follow our leading man Stephen Nedumpally aka Khureshi-Ab'ram, the overlord, who reigns over the minutiae of Kerala party politics and international drug trades through his dual persona which was established in the first film.

This time, we are offered a glimpse into bigger battles, some fierce gunplay, and a whole new subplot involving the character of Zayed Masood (played by Prithviraj Sukumaran), who is expected to be the emotional hook of the second installment.

The frames by Sujith Vaasudev look grander and explore a wider canvas than the predecessor with Deepak Dev elevating the trailer with his classically styled background score.

The word 'L' calling back to the eponymous title 'Lucifer' and 'Mohanlal', has been used extensively throughout the trailer, a facet of the Lucifer series, where several motifs and visual cues are scattered all over the high stakes action set pieces, are all tied together by the themes of the fallen angel or discarded demon from the gates of hell, standing in for the hero.

Empuraan promises a world of geo-political intrigue, drug wars and action spectacle all rolled into one.