For all you certified Mohanlal fans/ lovers this is his latest blockbuster offering of March 2025, part two of the Lucifer trilogy. L2 Empuraan courted a fair share of controversy even before it’s release, the makers agreed to some cuts, however the audience flocked to see the uncut version before it was replaced in cinema halls.
Apart from the controversies there are many other aspects of the film which make it the first superhit of Malayali cinema in 2025 which grossed over Rs 300 crores worldwide, for starters the thing that strikes you about the movie is that unlike any other south original non-dubbed movie this movie is generously interspersed with English and Hindi dialogues according to the requirement of the story.
It starts with two independent storylines which then get entwined with the third, thus starting with the first story which involves the CIA and the international drug cartel this also being the opening sequence of the movie where the CIA operatives try to storm a meeting between two factions the crime syndicate axis which rule the world, the Shen Triad and Khureshi Ab’raam of who Mohanlal alias Lucifer is the overlord (also the meaning of Empuraan). The other one is the back story of the child which lends power to the script and is shot extensively and lucidly for the large canvas, this is the one involving Gujarat riots and the third story is the one which follows naturally from part one about the Kerela politics.
Both the parts can be seen individually in isolation as well as one after another with both movies telling their own tales as well as continuing the tale with some back stories which take the movie forward with smooth overlap no cannibalisation and keeping the story wide open to accommodate the third part which a little bird says would be Khureshi Ab’raam’s back story.
The low down on the movie L2 Empuraan, the dialogues are heavy duty, laced with Malayali sensibilities and Indian philosophy. The movie has been ably directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran who also plays one of the protagonist with few dialogues, this one being his revenge story, the Antagonists both Abhimanyu Singh as Baba Baldev and Sukant Goel as his sidekick Munna are menacing.
Now about the king of Malayalam cinema, what can one say but drool, Mohanlal is in his element and he conveyed more with his swag. demeanor and dialogues then with acting itself he is also the narrator. The other fringe actors are cast well specially the international crew which for once was genuine foreigners and not expats. Amongst the action sequences, two stand out, the opening ops action and one at the fag end were Munna is blasted with a bomb planted on him. All in all a worth watch for Mohanlal fans specially as it is streaming on Hotstar and it appears to be without any cuts.
Released in theatres, this thriller has a run time of 179 minutes.
– Review by Pawan Gupta
Cast of L2 Empuraan:
Mohanlal as Khureshi-Ab’raam / Stephen Nedumpally
Pranav Mohanlal as Teenage Khureshi-Ab’raam / Stephen Nedumpally
Prithviraj Sukumaran as Zayed Masood
Karthikeya Dev as Young Zayed Masood
Abhimanyu Singh as Balraj Patel / Baba Bajrangi / Baba Baldev
Manju Warrier as Priyadarshini Ramdas
Tovino Thomas as Jathin Ramdas
Indrajith Sukumaran as Govardhan
Jerome Flynn as Boris Oliver
Andrea Tivadar as Michele Menuhin
Saikumar as Mahesha Varma
Baiju Santhosh as Murugan
Credits of L2 Empuraan:
Production companies – Aashirvad Cinemas, Lyca Productions, Sree Gokulam Movies
Produced by Antony Perumbavoor, Subaskaran Allirajah, Gokulam Gopalan
Directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran
Written by Murali Gopy
Cinematography Sujith Vaassudev
Edited by Akhilesh Mohan
Music by Deepak Dev