CHENNAI: A new controversy has arisen over the film Mohanlal's re-edited film Empuraan is set to hit the theatres today. A section of farmers in Tamil Nadu have come forward demanding that the scenes mentioning the dam be removed from the film. The dam is given a fictional name in the film. The Periyar Vaiga Irrigation Farmers Association has warned that this is meant for Mullaperiyar and that protests will intensify if this is not removed. Coordinator Anwar Balasingham said that they will hold a sit-in protest in front of Gokulam Chits branch at Kambam in Tamil Nadu tomorrow.

‘The unnecessary mention of the Mullaperiyar dam is an attempt to damage the relationship between the two states. The dam is mentioned as Nedumpally Dam. The film says that if anything drastic happens to the dam, Kerala will be submerged under water. There are dialogues in the films that barriers are useless. These should be muted,’ demanded Balasingham.

Meantime, the new version of Empuraan, which was re-edited following the controversies, will hit the theatres today. The re-censoring of the film was completed on Sunday. The delay in completing the editing and mastering was the reason for the delay in hitting the theatres. The mastering work was done at Annapurna Studios, owned by actor Nagarjuna in Hyderabad. It is reported that the new version will hit the theatres today. The old version will be screened in the morning shows.