'Prithviraj took Sangh for a ride, shrewd marketing strategy'; Akhil Marar's unpopular opinion

The Mohanlal-Prithviraj film Empuraan left the political cauldron burning in Kerala for the theme it dealt with. There is a huge campaign on social media to boycott the film as Sangh affiliates believe the filmmakers distorted the facts regarding the Gujarat riots, which is shown in the movie in a different light.

Meanwhile, director Akhil Marar has taken to social media to suggest that all the controversies surrounding the film are a marketing ploy by director Prithviraj.

Akhil Marar:

“The huge hype over Empuraan saw people booking tickets en masse for the movie. It was unprecedented for a movie in Kerala to see such large bookings. Among those who booked, a lion’s share were Sangh supporters. A large section of Mohanlal fans are Sangh supporters, and it is an open secret.

According to the usual seen trend, if a Mohanlal movie turns into a success, a few fringe media portals and radical Islamists will enter the fray to do the hit job. These two groups would get nightmares if Empuraan were to be successful.

And now comes the genius of Prithviraj. The controversy over the Gujarat riots in the movie spurred only on Thursday. Many Sangh handles fumed and came harshly against the movie. In the 2022 movie ‘Jana Gana Mana, ’ Prithvi used the same tactic to irk Sangh with a dialogue that was not even included in the movie. This is to ensure that Anti-Sangh people book tickets en masse while ensuring the controversy remains burning.

In short, Prithviraj used Mohanlal as a façade to lure Sangh people to theatres. From the second day onwards, he used anti-BJP elements from movies to lure other members to theatres. Despite being called ‘Divider in chief’, Modi became chief minister of Gujarat for three consecutive terms. He is now the PM of India for the third time. What helped him most was the blame game over the riots in 2022.

If a film shows Congressmen killing Sikhs without showing the assassination of Indira Gandhi, people would come to question it. The same flaw was evident in Empuraan. They gave a skewed depiction of the Godhra train fire accident, and people started questioning it. I feel that Empuraan will ultimately become a film that will increase votes for the BJP in the state for all the antoganisation shown in the movie.”