L2: Empuraan was the highly-anticipated sequel to Mohanlal’s successful Lucifer, which released in 2019. Lucifer was Prithviraj Sukumaran’s directorial debut, and he proved his mettle as a director. Now, six years later, does L2: Empuraan surpass its prequel Lucifer as a film? (Also read: Gujarat riot depiction in Mohanlal’s L2 Empuraan ‘exposes true agenda’ of hate, says Cong; BJP distances itself from row)
Both films have nearly the same cast, except in L2, we see the introduction of Abhimanyu Singh as Baba Bajrangi, the main antagonist. Writer Murali Gopy uses the same political and crime nexus plot to carry L2’s story forward, but one of the main drawbacks of the sequel is, in fact, its writing.
Where L2: Empuraan falters
The plot meanders across several continents and countries but doesn’t tie in convincingly and seamlessly. Copious amounts of time are spent on creating a narrative that ends abruptly and feels disconnected from the whole. Did the pressure to create a ‘pan-Indian’ – and not just a Malayalam film – result in a story that included a Hindu-Muslim conflict in the North, global crime syndicates and home-grown Kerala politics? Lucifer was a success due to its tight writing, while its sequel suffered due to lack of it, but that’s as far as the script goes.
How Prithviraj Sukumaran takes Malayalam cinema ahead
What director and actor Prithviraj Sukumaran has achieved in L2: Empuraan in terms of its technical brilliance is a never-seen-before feat in Malayalam cinema and perhaps Indian cinema, too. He has stylised the film, and every action block and introductory scene of Stephen Nedumpally, aka Khureshi Ab’raam, is a visual treat. The cinematographer Sujith Vaassudev, who has shot the film completely using natural light, has crafted shots that really elevate the production value of this film. Both he and Prithviraj must be commended for their shared vision of giving the audience a cinematic experience that meets international standards in terms of visual quality.
Reportedly made on a budget of ₹180 crore, L2: Empuraan has the grandeur of an extremely high-budget film given the Hollywood-style action sequences (including using swanky tanks, army-grade helicopters, flashy guns, etc) they have shot in various countries.
Coming to Prithviraj Sukumar’s directorial skills itself, the actor has clearly evolved as a director with time and wants to push the boundaries of Malayalam cinema, evident in L2. He has taken a regular political drama and honed it into a larger-than-life visual spectacle that draws the audience in not just because of its story but also its grand presentation. While he does rely on star power like Mohanlal and is able to handle the ambitious scale of the story, the intense action and drama, it’s in the character arcs that he falters. However, as a director, he is still leagues far ahead of many in creating a visual spectacle that is bang for the buck. He has proved that he can make many films as well, like the light-hearted comedy drama Bro Daddy (2022).
With the Lucifer series, Prithviraj Sukumaran has proved that he is ambitious and has an ambitious vision for himself and Malayalam cinema. He has also shown that Malayalam cinema can experiment with larger-than-life narratives, like Telugu and Tamil, and go beyond conventional story-telling.
With L2: Empuraan, he has shown how filmmakers can experiment with new genres and scale while still contributing to the growth of the Malayalam industry, which saw monumental losses in 2024. While his approach may have its fair share of critics, his Lucifer films undeniably add to the evolution of Malayalam cinema, pushing it into new, more ambitious territory.