Film Chamber plans token strike on Empuraan release date of March 27, 2025, Mohanlal fans react strongly

Prithviraj Sukumaran’s L2 Empuraan, starring Mohanlal, has become a raging topic for discussion among followers of Malalayalm cinema and it is not just because of the director-actor revealing more about his character Zayed Masood in the upcoming Malayalam film. In a dramatic development in Mollywood, the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce is reportedly planning for a token strike on March 27, 2025, which falls exactly on the release date of the highly anticipated L2 Empuraan. This appears to be a consequence of the ongoing tussle between G Suresh Kumar, vice-president of the Film Producers’ Association, and producer L2 Empuraan Antony Perumbavoor. But Lalettan fans have not taken kindly to the strike call on Empuraan release date and have been registering their strong opposition on Twitter.

Move aimed at L2 Empuraan?

The Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce has now come up with a new stipulation that exhibitors and distributors have to seek its permission before the release of Malayalam films from March 25. In addition to this, the film chamber has called for the token strike to highlight its various demands. However, this is being seen as a direct strike at L2 Empuraan since the major Malayalam release after March 25 is this Mohanlal-Prithviraj Sukumaran film.  

Reacting strongly to the film chamber’s call, Lalettan fans dared them to go ahead with their decision. 

One die-hard fan wrote, “Whoever is planning to start a strike, you're just digging your own grave. Mohanlal is bigger than your association—bigger than any association in Kerala.” 

Another netizen opined this is further promotion for the Mohanlal-starrer. The comment on Twitter read, “These clowns, knowingly or unknowingly are giving the biggest promotion to the industry's biggest movie.” Some fans also pointed out that such attempts to hinder the release of Mohanlal films had happened in the past too, citing instances of Odiyan and Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea.

How did the rift between Antony Perumbavoor and Suresh Kumar start? 

For the past few days, Malayalam media space has been buzzing about the rift between Antony Perumbavoor of Aashirvad Cinemas and Suresh Kumar, a top official of the producers' association. Antony Perumbavoor recently slammed Suresh Kumar over his comments about stars producing films, the crisis in the Malayalam industry and the call for a cinema strike in June. Empuraan director Prithviraj Sukumaran and Marco star Unni Mukundan were among the actors who shared Antony Perumbavoor’s Facebook post against Suresh Kumar, openly pledging their support. Reacting to this, Suresh Kumar too said that he was not ready for any talks with Antony Perumbavoor. The token strike on March 27 is the latest development in the ongoing rift.

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