L2 Empuraan producer shows support to Prithviraj Sukumaran as film collects over ₹250 crore worldwide amid controversy

L2 Empuraan producer Antony Perumbavoor posted pictures with Prithviraj Sukumaran on his Instagram and wrote this amid controversy.

L2 Empuraan, the sequel to the 2019 hit Lucifer, has faced criticism over some key scenes and became the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time. All this while the Enforcement Directorate was raiding one of the film’s producers, Gokulam Gopalam’s offices and the Income Tax Department was issuing notices to another producer, Antony Perumbavoor and actor-director Prithviraj Sukumaran.

Prithviraj Sukumaran and Antony Perumbavoor showed that they stand united amid controversy.

Antony Perumbavoor supports Prithviraj Sukumaran

Now, Antony showed support to Prithviraj amid all this controversy as the film collected over ₹250 crore worldwide at the box office. He took to his Instagram account and posted two candid pictures taken of him and Prithviraj at an L2 Empuraan event. One picture shows him talking to the actor-director with a large smile on his face, and the other shows him kissing Prithviraj on his cheek.

Sharing the pictures and tagging him, Antony wrote in Malayalam, “Elam okay alle anna?” which, according to Matrubhumi translates to, “All okay brother?” Prithviraj posted it on his Instagram stories, replying, “Pinnalla (yes, indeed or definitely),” with smiley and heart emojis.

A screengrab of Prithviraj Sukumaran's Instagram stories.

L2 Empuraan breaks records amid controversy

The off-screen controversy surrounding L2 Empuraan does not seem to weigh on its performance at the box office. Prithviraj posted on Sunday that the film has collected over ₹250 crore at the box office worldwide.

Sharing the poster, Antony’s production house wrote, “Malayalam cinema breaches the 250cr barrier for the first time in its history! The Emperor and his General navigating never seen before territory! #L2E #Empuraan.”

The controversy around the film

L2 Empuraan first made news after its release on March 27 for some scenes depicting a fictional re-telling of the 2002 Gujarat riots. Taking criticism into account, the team trimmed scenes and changed the villain’s name within a week of the film’s release.

The film made news again when the ED raided Gokulam’s office on April 4 and 5, seizing ₹1.5 crore in cash for alleged foreign exchange law violations, according to PTI. IT notices were also sent to Antony and Prithviraj for the former’s films Lucifer and Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea and the latter’s Jana Gana Mana, Gold, and Kadavu in a 2022 case.