THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The new version of Mohanlal's film Empuraan, which is being re-edited after the controversies, will hit the theatres on Thursday. There will be a change in 17 scenes. The villain's name will be changed. Some dialogues will be muted. The producers themselves will submit the new version for censoring. Meantime, there is a huge rush in theatres to watch the old version before the release of Empuraan, releasing after cuts. Reports said that seats have been booked in all theatres in major cities as today and tomorrow are holidays.

The crew is preparing for re-editing after the RSS took a strong stand against Empuraan. The RSS mouthpiece Organizer criticized the film for having an anti-Hindu agenda. They also alleged that the content was handled with bias. Later, the Union Home Ministry sought a report from the Information and Broadcasting Department. Minister Anurag Thakur contacted the censor board and collected information. With this, the producers and crew had no other option. They decided to make changes themselves after getting indications that the censor board would recall the film.

Reports said Mohanlal himself had taken the initiative to resolve the issue. If the censor board recalls the film and cuts the scenes, it will affect the continuity of the story. Director Prithviraj also said that it was safe to edit the scenes and release them. Mohanlal and Antony Perumbavoor contacted producer Suresh Kumar, who is close to the BJP national leadership. The solution formula was then formulated.