24 cuts in 'Empuraan'; re-edited version to be screened from today

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The makers of the blockbuster Malayalam film Empuraan have made 24 voluntary cuts to the film due to controversies surrounding the film. The re-edited version, which is 2 minutes and 8 seconds shorter, will be screened in theaters starting from today’s morning shows. The changes made to the film have been outlined in the censor report. The Censor Board committee, consisting of Swarup Kartha, K. Roshni Das, G.M. Mahesh, M.M. Manjusha, and T. Nadeem Tufail, reevaluated the movie and granted it certification.

In the re-edited version, the name of the villain Bajrangi has been changed to Baldev, the term NIA has been muted, and scenes depicting sexual assault on women and dialogue regarding the national flag's colours have been removed. There was a continued rush to watch the film before the cuts, and reports came in yesterday stating that the film had already earned Rs 200 crore in collections.

Scenes removed from the film:

• Scenes showing tractors and vehicles passing in front of a religious center, as well as scenes of violence and dead bodies.
• Some scenes involving characters Balraj and Peethambaran, the car's nameboard, TV news footage, and the killing of Mohsin.
• Certain dialogues between Masood and Zayed Masood and between Balraj and Munna.
• A scene showing a female character’s head being repeatedly slammed against a wall. The card indicating a time period was changed to “A few years ago".

Suresh Gopi’s name removed from the credits
In a significant change, the name of Union Minister Suresh Gopi has been removed from the thank-you card in the film, as per his request. Additionally, a card thanking Jyothish Mohan and I.R.S. was also removed.

Suresh Gopi's comments on the controversy
Suresh Gopi responded to the controversy surrounding Empuraan, stating that no one had asked for scenes to be cut from the movie, and emphasized that the entire situation was simply a commercial drama.