“It’s Not a Film; It’s Magic” – Mohanlal at the Grand Trailer Launch of His Pan-India Biggie “L2E: Empuraan” in Mumbai

“It’s Not a Film; It’s Magic” – Mohanlal at the Grand Trailer Launch of His Pan-India Biggie “L2E: Empuraan” in Mumbai

The much-anticipated theatrical trailer launch of Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran’s “L2E: Empuraan” happened today at the INOX Megaplex at InOrbit Mall, located in Malad, Mumbai.

What made this event even more special was that the trailer was screened in the IMAX®️ format for the media. It marks the first-ever IMAX®️ trailer launch for a Malayalam film. L2E: Empuraan is also the first Malayalam film to get an IMAX®️ release. It will be released on IMAX®️ screens across the world in selected markets.

The event was graced by the film’s lead actor Mohanlal, director Prithviraj Sukumaran, producer Gokulam Gopalan, actor Indrajith Sukumaran, actress Manju Warrier, writer Murali Gopy, Hindi distribution partner Anil Thadani, and various other cast and crew members of the film.

Speaking at the event, Mohanlal said that he is having butterflies in his stomach ahead of the film’s release. He said, “It’s a beautiful journey of 47 years, and to make a film like this is not an easy task. It was our dream to make a film like this. Thank you, Prithviraj, for making such a film. This is not a film. It’s magic. It is our sweat and blood. We started the trilogy with Lucifer, now this is Empuraan and we have another part in the pipeline. I don’t want to speak more about it as the film itself will speak to you.”

Prithviraj Sukumaran said that directing a film is never easy and it takes a lot of work, decision-making, and constant thought to put together a giant film, especially doing something like this. He said, “When we got together and decided to follow up the huge success of Lucifer with a second part of what has always been conceived as a trilogy by writer Murali Gopy, I knew deep down that for this film, the ideation and conception that I had in mind were going to be extremely challenging to pull off as just a Malayalam film. The scale at which we have attempted this and the canvas against which the story needs to be told are really deep waters for our industry. We have not tried to do something like this before. I gave my first narration to Mohanlal sir and my producer Antony sir in Dubai in 2022. Fifty per cent of my heart was telling me he was going to listen to the narration and then politely ask me to let go of this project as it is impossible to shoot the movie on such a huge scale. But as soon as I finished the narration, he told me we were doing this. That confidence is what really spurred me on. The confidence that he and Antony gave me is the reason why we all are sitting here today.” 

“Today in Malayalam cinema, we can think of big budgets and big canvases only because of people like our producer Gokulam Gopalan, who are very passionate about cinema. Mr. Gopalan used to always back such films from a time when other producers never dared to do back then in Malayalam. Malayalam always had an illustrious heritage of making fantastic cinema, but we could not properly go through an exhibition network where we could showcase our films across the country. That is where people like Mr. Anil Thadani, who has one of the strongest distribution networks in the country, come into the equation. Thanks for accepting my request on a one-midnight phone call. Empuraan could be the beginning of a lot of things for Malayalam cinema, which in turn would mean a lot of things for our overall aspiration of eventually amalgamating into this giant Indian film industry,” Prithviraj added.

One of the film’s producers, Gokulam Gopalan, said, “I believe in God and feel blessed in so many ways. I thank Him for giving me the opportunity to back this project. I am confident that the film will succeed and gain recognition worldwide.”

Actor Indrajith said, “Prithviraj and I have worked together in a lot of films as actors, and Lucifer was my first film with him working as a director. It was wonderful working with him, and I have always said that he is one person who has very good clarity about what he wants to do and what he wants from his actors. He is very communicative, which makes it easy for actors to just operate as he says. It’s been a wonderful journey from Lucifer. It’s a trilogy, and this is the second part. Lucifer was like an extended cameo for me because the number of scenes I had was very few, but I did a lengthier role in this one, and I hope I get a bigger role in the next one.”

Writer Murali Gopy stated, “I hope it is safe to say that many of you present here, if not all of you, have seen the first part of the franchise. That is the baseline of what you see in this movie and also the conclusive part of the franchise. I just hope it is going to be a great experience.”

Manju Warrier said, “Sitting here, I can’t think of any other emotion than gratitude. Being part of a good film any day is a pleasure. But for this film, which has such grandeur, style, and anticipation, a whole different level of excitement is happening inside me. I thank Prithviraj and Murali for trusting me with this role. I also would like to thank Antony, Gopalan sir, and the wonderful cast and crew for making this film look like what we see right now. I really hope everyone loves the film and that it is going to be a great experience watching this movie in theatres. Working with Lalettan is a blessing for any actor. I have been blessed to work with him in a few films. I can proudly say that most of my appreciated, noted, and loved performances and roles have been with him. I should thank him for the amazing space he gave me as a co-actor. I will never be satisfied with the number of films I get to do with a mega legend like him.”

Anil Thadani of AA Films stated, “This is a big fan moment for me. I have never worked with Mohanlal sir. This is my first association with him, and I am truly honoured. I would like to thank Antony sir and Gokulam sir for giving me this opportunity. This is my third film with Prithvi, and I hope our combination is third time lucky. I saw the trailer earlier this morning, and I hope what I saw is a teaser to what I just saw. Prithvi, you just raised the bar for the entire Indian film industry.”

Produced by Antony Perumbavoor and Gokulam Gopalan under their respective banners Aashirvad Cinemas and Sree Gokulam Movies, L2E: Empuraan will have its worldwide theatrical release on March 27, 2025, in Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi, Tamil and Kannada. Dil Raju’s SVC Cinemas is distributing the film in Telugu states and Hombale Films is releasing the film in Kannada. Sree Gokulam Movies and Anil Thadani are overseeing the release in Tamil Nadu and North India respectively.