Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran did not charge for L2: Empuraan, guaranteeing that the funding was allocated for production. Mohanlal, Manju Warrier, and Tovino Thomas co-star in the film.
Did you know? Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran did not demand any money for L2: Empuraan! In an industry where celebrity wages may consume a significant portion of a film's budget, these two elected to put the picture first.
Instead of cashing in, they made every rupee count by making L2: Empuraan as spectacular as possible. Empuraan, billed as one of the most costly Malayalam films, starring prominent actors such as Mohanlal, Manju Warrier, Tovino Thomas, Abhimanyu Singh, and Suraj Venjaramoodu.
Prithviraj told Pinkvilla, “When we started out with the casting of Empuraan, I did have a wishlist. There were endless possibilities, and I had really big names in my head. In fact, I managed to reach out to most of those actors from US, UK, China, etc… "
L2: Empuraan also stars Game of Thrones-fame Jerome Flynn, Eriq Ebouaney, and Andrea Tivadar. “To my shock, most of them were keen on the idea of collaborating with an Indian film and Empuraan. After we mutually agreed, the agents stepped in. And they want to get as much money for the talents as possible. But that doesn’t work for Malayalam cinema," said Prithviraj.
“Every little penny I have, I wanted to put it into the making of Empuraan. Mohanlal hasn’t taken a single rupee for the film," said Prithviraj.
Mohanlal, who was also part of the conversation, stopped Prithviraj and said that he hasn't taken a single penny. “Whatever money we spent will be seen on the screen," said the legendary actor.
Prithviraj added that Empuraan wasn’t a “Rs 100 crore film where Rs 80 crore was spent on remunerations." “All of us, the technicians, and the actors, knew we were attempting something different, and we all pitched in. Even the foreign actors understood. People like Jerome, Andrea acted in Empuraan as a favour," said Prithviraj.
L2: Empuraan, a political action thriller starring Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran, is scheduled for a March 27 release. The highly anticipated film will premiere at 6:00 a.m. IST on March 27, 2025. It will also be screened in locations throughout the world at times that correspond to their time zones.
The highly anticipated L2: Empuraan is a sequel to the 2019 movie Lucifer, with Mohanlal reprising his legendary role as Khureshi-Ab'raam, alias Stephen Nedumpally. Prithviraj Sukumaran, who is directing again, will reprise his role as Zayed Masood. Interestingly, L2: Empuraan will face off against Salman Khan's highly anticipated action movie Sikandar, which opens on March 30.
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