"Rulers will always want to keep some history hidden."
Let's talk about THE BIGGEST NATIONAL ISSUE, apparently its a 'movie' from a Padavalanga shaped state in the South of India.
L2E: Empuraan – the heavily anticipated second installment of the Lucifer franchise, touted as the biggest Malayalam film to date, was released on March 27, 2025. With immense anticipation and hype surrounding the movie, it was breaking film records left and right even before its release.
Before we dive into the review, there is a lot to unpack. It's a movie, not an atom bomb, but the way one section of our country is reacting makes it feel like a national security threat. What’s the issue here? Even though the film is set in a fictional world, it makes numerous references to real-world events. The film begins by depicting the burning of the Sabarmati Express in Godhra and the subsequent riots in Gujarat. For the backstory of one of the main characters, the film creates an episode inspired by real-life incidents during the Gujarat Riots — the Naroda Patiya Massacre.
The main villain of the movie is named Balraj, who, as the story progresses, becomes popularly known as Baba Bajrangi. The similarity in name to Babu Bajrangi—the real terrorist behind the Naroda Patiya Massacre—couldn’t be a coincidence.
Who was Babu Bajrangi? A terrorist who killed 97 Indians, including 36 women, 25 men, and 35 children. Is this an accusation? No. The man admitted to it on camera himself. He even went on to say:
" At 7 o’clock, I called the home minister and also Jaideepbhai [Jaideep Patel, VHP general secretary] and told them how many people had been killed and said that things were now in their hands… I don’t know if they did anything, though… At 2.30 in the morning, an FIR was lodged against me… The FIR said I was there… the police commissioner even issued orders to shoot me at sight…
I have just one wish… one last wish…. Let me be sentenced to death… I don’t want to be incarcerated… I don’t care if I’m hanged… Give me two days before my hanging and I will go and have a field day in Juhapura, where seven or eight lakh of these people stay… I will finish them off … Let a few more of them die… At least 25-50,000 should die…
Maza aata hai na, saheb"
You can read his whole transcript here.
So, naming the villain after him seems justified. He deserves to be killed by our heroes.
Reports from the Gujarat Police, CBI, and other investigative agencies confirm that over 250 women and children were gang-raped publicly before being burned to death at various locations during the riots. Their male family members were forced to watch the rapes before being killed.
Hina Kausar from Naroda Patiya was pregnant when she was raped. Several eyewitnesses testified that she was tortured, and her womb was slit open with a sword to extract the fetus, which was then hacked to pieces and burned alive alongside the mother.
Bilkis Yakoob Rasool was five months pregnant when she was gang-raped. Fourteen members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter, were murdered before her eyes.
What happened to the culprits?
The Gujarat government has now granted early release to all eleven of the convicted rapists.
What happened to Babu Bajrangi?
He was convicted and send to jail. As per his words: "Narendrabhai got me out of jail…… He kept on changing judges…. He set it up so as to ensure my release, otherwise I wouldn’t have been out yet... The first judge was one Dholakiaji... He said Babu Bajrangi should be hanged — not once, but four-five times, and he flung the file aside... Then came another who stopped just short of saying I should be hanged… Then there was a third one… By then, four-and-a-half months had elapsed in jail; then Narendrabhai sent me a message... saying he would find a way out... Next he posted a judge named Akshay Mehta… He never even looked at the file or anything…. He just said [bail was] granted… And we were all out... We were free….. For this, I believe in God… We are ready to die for Hindutva..."
Then, when his own confession was submitted as proof, Bajrangi was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2012. However, he remains out of jail on bail. By 2016, he had been granted temporary bail 14 times on the pretext of his wife's and his own poor health. Eventually, In 2019, the Supreme Court of India granted bail to Babu Bajrangi after the Gujarat government reported that his health was poor. In April 2023, a special court in Gujarat acquitted him and all other accused in the 2002 Naroda Gam riots case.
Now, he walks free in a land once ruled by Bharata—renowned for his righteousness, selflessness, and devotion to dharma.
The Controversy
Observer, the mouthpiece of the RSS, has claimed that this movie is anti-Hindu and anti-national. BJP supporters argue that the film does not show how the Sabarmati Express was burned or who was responsible. They claim the riots were merely retaliation for the burning of coaches S5 and S6 of the Sabarmati Express, which supposedly carried mostly karsevaks returning from Ayodhya. I say supposedly because, out of the 59 reported dead bodies, only five were identified—one of whom was the wife of the station master of Godhra. However, the general consensus is that most of the victims were karsevaks, and that it was a planned attack by Muslims.
Initial reports suggest that there was an altercation between karsevaks and Muslim traders at the railway station, after which the train was stopped multiple times by chain-pulling. At one such stop, over 2,000 Muslims allegedly attacked and burned coaches S5 and S6. Another report suggests that the fire was accidental and not due to an attack.
The prosecution argued that a mob of around 1,000–2,000 people, allegedly mobilized for the attack, participated in stone-pelting and setting the coach on fire. Some eyewitnesses testified to seeing a mob gathering, but the exact number of attackers remains disputed.
The Nanavati-Mehta Commission and court proceedings found 31 individuals guilty, concluding it was a planned conspiracy. However, other reports, including those from human rights groups, questioned aspects of the official narrative.
The central government appointed a committee led by Justice U.C. Banerjee, which concluded that the fire was accidental and not pre-planned. It suggested that the fire could have been caused by spilled kerosene or an accident inside the coach, rather than an external attack.
Some investigative reports questioned whether such a large mob could have gathered without immediate police intervention. Organizations like CJP and PUCL (People’s Union for Civil Liberties) pointed out contradictions in witness testimonies used by the prosecution. They argued that the train incident was used as a pretext to justify large-scale communal violence in Gujarat.
Forensic experts debated whether petrol could have been thrown from outside the train to cause such a massive fire. The fire spread mainly inside the coach, leading some experts to argue that an internal source of ignition was possible.
With over 60 independent and government investigations, no consensus has been reached regarding how the train caught fire. However, courts ultimately upheld the conspiracy charge, convicting 31 people while acquitting others.
Were the courts non-partisan? The courts dismissed multiple claims against the government, including hidden camera investigations and testimonies from former police officers.
At this moment, we do not know the exact reason behind the fire that killed 59 innocent people on the Sabarmati Express. But we do know who was responsible for the massacre of over 1,000 innocent people in Gujarat — the ones behind the rape of over 250 girls and women.
The victims in both incidents were innocent humans and Indians. The people who killed them were not Hindus or Muslims — they were terrorists. And unfortunately, some of those terrorists are still living among us freely.
What exactly is the issue with portraying one of these terrorists as a villain in a movie?
Why are some people trying to associate the Hindu identity with this terrorist? Is he a Hindu? Does Hinduism teach us to kill our brothers and sisters? It does not—but terrorism does.
Keep Hindu identity out of these monsters.
And about the movie not showing Muslims burning the train—well, we are not sure. It could have been them, but it could also have been someone else trying to incite communal riots between Hindus and Muslims. It could even have been an accident. How can a movie depict something it cannot confirm? The movie doesn't dismiss that idea either, it began by citing the incident, didn't side with an alleged idea. It never says the train was not burned, it showed the horrors of the incident, it showed what the newspaper headlines read and it cut forth to a scene that is relevant to the plot of the movie — a terrorist killing the family of one of our protagonists.
To be fair, the movie doesn't even mention where the riot is taking place. Its just shows what our little hero witnessed that day and how he got to where he is now.
The team has decided to cut 24 scenes (a total of 3 minutes) and change the villain’s name due to pressure from multiple sources. A censor board office even worked on a Sunday to issue a re-censor certificate.
Imagine that we live in a free country that is supposedly trying to suppress any content critical of it.
This is the country where The Accidental Prime Minister, Emergency, and The Kerala Story were released. The Kerala Story was not even banned in Kerala, even though it portrayed the state in a very poor light. The state never allows such atrocities against women to happen in public places, but it didn't want to infringe on the artistic liberty taken by the director of the film, who chose to say 30,000 instead of 3.
Does Empuraan criticize the BJP? Yes, it does, for its politics of communalisation. Does it criticize the Congress? Yes, it does, for its appeasement politics, dynastic politics, and corruption. Does it criticize the Communists? Yes, it does. It calls out their irrelevance in the country, their fake secular facade, and even directly criticizes the Chief Minister of the state.
But why can't the BJP take criticism while others can? Are they trying to create an environment in the country similar to China, North Korea, or Pakistan, where there is no tolerance for criticism of the government?
This movie is from the land of Kunjan Nambiar, who criticized the King in his palace, in his court, and even at his dining table.
This is the land of Tenali Rama, Vemana, Guru Nanak, Kabir, Chanakya, Yajnavalkya, Subramania Bharati, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, B.R. Ambedkar, Jyotirao Phule, Periyar, Bhagat Singh, and Shri Krishna. Criticism runs in its veins.
This movie doesn't take sides, it doesn't make assumptions. It tells the story of a bad character who took advantage of an opportunity, showed brutality, and in the end, got what he deserved. It is a plain and simple revenge story that doesn't need a communal angle—because the movie never gives it one. This is not Muslims vs Hindus; it is a son vs. the killer of his parents, a brother vs. the killer of his siblings.
Don't see religion where you shouldn't see religion.
Sources:
Review
It’s a packed movie with little to no drag or lag throughout its full runtime of 3 hours. At no point were we, as viewers, given an opportunity to take our eyes off the screen.
It is a well-executed film with template revenge story that showcases the director’s and the technical team’s abilities on the grandest scale possible. At various points, we are left in awe of director Prithviraj's vision and craft. The first half brims with technical brilliance—making it feel like a Hollywood movie—and leaves us wondering, How did they achieve all this on such a low budget? It would have taken at least 300 crores, yet they managed to do it without such a massive budget.
However, after the interval, we see a gradual shift from Hollywood-level film making to a more typical South Indian mass film. While it’s not bad, it feels underwhelming. Expectations were already high during the promotions, and they soared even higher after the first half. But the second half brought the vibe down, with characters feeling a bit out of place, especially during the climax fight sequence. All the new characters and previous ones with an exception of two, has not been explored or showcased enough. In the first film, Lucifer, we were able to connect and understand these characters to the extent that we can predict how each character will react to a certain situation. Empuraan fails in that aspect, along with a poorly written and weak Villain adds no stake to the movie.
The background score was fine—but it didn’t elevate the scenes as it should have. The BGM gives audiences cues to cheer, like in KGF, where the music builds up when Rocky appears on screen, triggering a euphoric response from the crowd. Empuraan had similar moments, but since the music remained high throughout the scenes, it didn’t enhance the theatrical experience as effectively.
That said, the film did manage to build hype and expectations for the third and final installment of the franchise in a subtle yet effective way.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Entertaining | Technically Sound | Stunning cinematography | All pause scenes are wallpaper-worthy | Writing felt a bit inconsistent | Weak Villain | Couldn’t surpass the bar set by Lucifer
इहं सार्धम्
Iham Sārdham ❤️
