L2: Empuraan | |
---|---|
Directed by | Prithviraj Sukumaran |
Written by | Murali Gopy |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Sujith Vaassudev |
Edited by | Akhilesh Mohan |
Music by | Deepak Dev |
Production companies | |
Country | India |
Language | Malayalam |
L2: Empuraan (stylised as E.M.P.U.R.A.A.N), also called L2E, is an upcoming Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran and written by Murali Gopy. It is the second instalment in a planned trilogy, following the 2019 film Lucifer . The film is jointly produced by Lyca Productions and Aashirvad Cinemas. It stars Mohanlal as Khureshi-Ab'raam / Stephen Nedumpally, reprising his role from the original, alongside an ensemble cast of Prithviraj Sukumaran, Tovino Thomas, Indrajith Sukumaran, Manju Warrier, Saniya Iyappan, Arjun Das, Saikumar, Baiju Santhosh, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Fazil and Sachin Khedekar.
Lucifer was always intended to be a series from its inception, originally conceived as a three-part film. The first part was made into the film Lucifer. The success of the first film led to the decision to proceed with the second instalment in the series. The announcement for Empuraan was made in June 2019, and production, originally planned for mid-2020, faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Murali took the opportunity to expand the scale and scope of Empuraan. The screenplay was finalised in July 2022, and pre-production began the following month. Lyca Productions joined as a producer in 2023, marking their debut in Malayalam, alongside Aashirvad Cinemas, the producer of the original. The film's music was composed by Deepak Dev.
Principal photography began on October 5, 2023, in Faridabad. Subsequent sporadic schedules took place at various locations, including Shimla, Leh, the United Kingdom, United States, Chennai, Kerala and Gujarat.
No official announcement of a follow-up was made for Lucifer (2019), despite its open ending. The possibility of a continuation was confirmed by writer Murali Gopy in an April 2019 interview, shortly after the release of Lucifer. He clarified that "Lucifer is definitely designed as a franchise, and it is very evident from its structure and progression." [1] The official announcement of a second film and its title took place during a press conference on 18 June 2019. Shedding light on the meaning of the title, Prithviraj Sukumaran said that Empuraan signifies "someone who is more than a king, but less than a god," with a more literal translation being "overlord". Murali revealed that Lucifer was conceived as a series right from its inception. The success of the first film gave them confidence to proceed with Empuraan, said Prithviraj. Production was planned to commence in the second half of 2020. [2]
In September 2019, Prithviraj further revealed that Empuraan is part of a three-film series. [3] The trilogy was originally envisioned as a three-season web series, the first season was transformed into the film Lucifer, while the second and third seasons were adapted for the subsequent instalments. [4] Prithviraj clarified that Empuraan does not continue the story of Lucifer but rather delves into the events that occurred before and after it, and that they have built "a franchise structure that visits every aspect of the story". [5] Murali hinted that Empuraan would unveil more layers of the narrative. [2]
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led to the postponement of the production. [6] In September 2020, Murali presented a comprehensive design brief of Empuraan to Prithviraj, who stated that it assisted him in visualising an edited and colour-corrected version of the film. [7] Pre-production, that was set to begin in 2021, was again delayed due to the pandemic. [8] In the meantime, Prithviraj directed another film, Bro Daddy (2022), in the third quarter of 2021. [9] In October 2021, Prithviraj disclosed that they were still waiting for the pandemic situation to subside, as they could not proceed with location scouting under that situation and expressed hope to start filming by mid-2022. [10]
In 2022, Murali revealed plans to "scale up the magnitude and scope" of Empuraan. [11] He was in the process of writing the screenplay in May 2022, [12] which he completed that month. [13] In July, Prithviraj announced the completion of Empuraan's final script and informed lead actor Mohanlal and returning producer Antony Perumbavoor. [14] The following month, the team officially announced through social media that they had entered the pre-production phase, "we are starting the actual process of making the film from today (17 August 2022)", wrote Prithviraj. Murali categorised Empuraan as a second instalment rather than a sequel. Prithviraj described the film as a "commercial entertainer". [15] In September 2023, the Tamil film production house Lyca Productions announced their involvement in the production of Empuraan, marking their debut in Malayalam cinema, along with Aashirvad Cinemas, the producer of Lucifer. Additionally, Prithviraj's company Prithviraj Productions is credited for "project design". [16]
Mohanlal reprises his role of Khureshi-Ab'raam / Stephen Nedumpally. During the film's announcement, it was revealed that Prithviraj's character Zayed Masood would have more prominence in Empuraan. [2] Prithviraj said that Zayed's role in Stephen's life is bigger than what was shown in Lucifer. [5] In February 2020, Tovino Thomas confirmed his involvement in the project. [17] In February 2023, Baiju Santhosh confirmed that he would reprise his role as Murugan. [18] Manju Warrier, Indrajith Sukumaran, Saikumar and Nandu also reprise their respective roles. [19] In May 2023, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Arjun Das, Sharafudheen, Shine Tom Chacko, and Rahul Madhav were cast in pivotal roles. [20] In October 2023, Saniya Iyappan announced that she would be reprising her role as Jhanvi.
Sujith Vaassudev and Mohandas were retained as the Cinematographer and Art Director respectively. Following a six-month-long location scouting process in India, which concluded in February 2023, the film crew embarked on a recce in international locations. [21] Principal photography was originally scheduled to commence on 15 August. [22] However, it was postponed after Prithviraj sustained an injury on the sets of Vilayath Buddha. [23] Production eventually began with a customary muhurtam shot on 5 October at Faridabad on the outskirts of Delhi and Haryana. It primarily featured foreign actors and extras. Shooting was shifted to Shimla, Himachal Pradesh after a day of shooting in Faridabad. [24] [25] Filming also took place in Leh, Ladakh. [26] First schedule was completed in Ladakh on 28 October. [27] Nirmal Sahadev served as the creative director. [28] Suresh Balaje and George Pius of Wide Angle Creations serve as the film's line producers. [29] The Crew has mostly utilised Practical Effects for the action sequences. [30] [31] The Stunts were choreographed by Stunt Silva. [23]
The crew went for location scouting in London in November. [32] The second schedule took place in January 2024 across the United Kingdom. [33] Tovino Thomas and Indrajith Sukumaran joined production during the third schedule in the USA, with Albuquerque, New Mexico, Louisiana and New York serving as the locations. [34] [35] The fourth schedule was shot at Chennai before moving to Kerala. [36] [37] The sixth schedule at Gujarat started from June 2024, however production was temporarily halted due to Heavy Rainfall. [38] Filming resumed on the last week of September 2024. [39] Remaining schedules are planned at Hyderabad, Mumbai and U.A.E. [40]
The film's music is composed by Deepak Dev, who composed music for the prequel. In March 2023, Dev said that he had already started the music work for Empuraan. [41]
In November 2022, while the film was in pre-production, Prithviraj stated that they have not decided on a release date for the film. [42] Beside its original release in Malayalam, the film would be released in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi languages. [43] The film is also marketed with the short title L2E by the makers and would be the first Malayalam film to release in IMAX format. [44]
As announced by the team, Lucifer is a trilogy, implying the existence of a third film as a continuation of the series. During a September 2019 event, Prithviraj mentioned that the third film will explore a much darker theme in the series. [45]
Prithviraj Sukumaran is an Indian actor, director, producer and playback singer primarily active in Malayalam cinema. He has also featured in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films, adding to over 100 films involving diverse genres and variety of roles. Prithviraj's accolades include a National Film Award, four Kerala State Film Awards, a Tamil Nadu State Film Award, seven SIIMA Awards and a South Filmfare Award.
Indrajith Sukumaran is an Indian actor and playback singer. He predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Indrajith was born to the actors Sukumaran and Mallika Sukumaran and is the elder brother of actor Prithviraj Sukumaran.
Prithviraj Sukumaran is an Indian actor, director, playback singer, producer, distributor and action choreographer who predominantly works in Malayalam language films. He also appears in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. He has worked in both mainstream and in parallel films. Prithviraj made his acting debut in 2002 with the Malayalam film, Nandanam. It was released after his second work Nakshathrakkannulla Rajakumaran Avanundoru Rajakumari. Since then, he has acted in more than 100 films.
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor is an award, begun in 1969, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to an actor for best performance in a Malayalam film. Until 1997, the awards were managed directly by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Kerala. Since 1998, the awards have been constituted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, an autonomous, non-profit institution functioning under the Department of Cultural Affairs. The awardees are decided by a jury constituted every year. They are announced by the Minister for Cultural Affairs and are presented by the Chief Minister.
Velayudhan Pillai Gopynathan Nair Muralikrishnan, professionally credited as Murali Gopy, is an Indian actor-screenwriter, producer, author, singer, lyricist, music composer and journalist. He has written films like Ee Adutha Kaalathu, Left Right Left, Tiyaan, Kammara Sambhavam, and the highest-grossing Malayalam film Lucifer. He has won numerous awards including Filmfare Awards South and South Indian International Movie Awards.
Aashirvad Cinemas is an Indian film production company based in Kochi, Kerala. It was established in 2000 by Antony Perumbavoor, since then, it has produced over 30 Malayalam films, starring Mohanlal. Since 2009, the company co-operates with the distribution company Maxlab Cinemas and Entertainments co-founded by Mohanlal and Antony Perumbavoor for distributing films. It is one among the most active and leading production houses in the Malayalam film industry.
Ee Adutha Kaalathu is a 2012 Indian Malayalam-language black comedy crime film written by Murali Gopy and directed by Arun Kumar Aravind. The film marks the second directorial venture by Arun Kumar Aravind, after his notable directorial debut Cocktail (2010). Kerala State Award winning cinematographer Shehnad Jalal handled the camera.
Lucifer is a 2019 Indian Malayalam-language political action thriller film directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran and written by Murali Gopy. Produced by Antony Perumbavoor through the production house Aashirvad Cinemas, the film marks Prithviraj's directorial debut and features Mohanlal in the title role, alongside an ensemble supporting cast including Vivek Oberoi, Manju Warrier, Tovino Thomas, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Indrajith Sukumaran, Sai Kumar, Baiju Santhosh, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Saniya Iyappan, Nyla Usha, Suresh Chandra Menon, Fazil and Sachin Khedekar. Deepak Dev composed the film's music, and the cinematography was handled by Sujith Vaassudev.
Tovino Thomas is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam films. He made his debut in 2012 with the film Prabhuvinte Makkal. His breakthrough roles were in the films ABCD (2013), 7th Day (2014) and Ennu Ninte Moideen (2015). He starred as the titular character in the Netflix superhero film Minnal Murali (2021).
Basil Joseph is an Indian film director and actor who works in the Malayalam film industry. He started his film career as an assistant director of Vineeth Sreenivasan in the 2013 film Thira. He has directed three films, Kunjiramayanam (2015), Godha (2017) and Minnal Murali (2021).
Weekend Blockbusters is an Indian film production company based in Kollam, Kerala, India. It was established in 2014 by producer Sophia Paul. Its first production was the Malayalam film Bangalore Days (2014). In 2016, they produced two films - Kaadu Pookkunna Neram and Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol.
Aami is a 2018 Indian Malayalam-language biographical film based on the life of poet-author Kamala Das. It is written and directed by Kamal and stars Manju Warrier as Kamala Surayya, along with Murali Gopy, Tovino Thomas, Anoop Menon, and Anand Bal. The film was released on 9 February 2018. It won two Kerala State Film Awards.
Kalyani Priyadarshan is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Malayalam films, in addition to Tamil and Telugu films. Kalyani is a recipient of one Filmfare Award South and three South Indian International Movie Awards.
Saniya Iyappan is an Indian actress who works in Malayalam films and television shows. She is best known for her roles in the films Queen (2018) and Lucifer (2019). Saniya is a recipient of a Filmfare Award South and two SIIMA Awards.
Barroz is an upcoming Indian Malayalam-language children's fantasy film directed by Mohanlal in his directorial debut. It was written by Jijo Punnoose based on his novel Barroz: Guardian of D'Gama's Treasure, and produced by Antony Perumbavoor of Aashirvad Cinemas. It stars Mohanlal in the titular role, with Maya, Cesar Lorente Raton, Kallirroi Tziafeta, Tuhin Menon, and Guru Somasundaram in other significant roles. The original score was composed by Mark Kilian, with songs by Lydian Nadhaswaram.
Rathish Ambat is an Indian film director, ad film director, and producer who works predominantly in the Malayalam film industry. He is well known for his debut film Kammara Sambhavam which was released on 14 April 2018. Over the past twenty years, he has contributed to various roles in the film and advertising industries in Kerala. He has directed advertising films in several languages, such as Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi.
Bro Daddy is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-drama film directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran and produced by Antony Perumbavoor through Aashirvad Cinemas, with screenplay by Sreejith N. and Bibin Maliekal. The film stars Mohanlal, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Meena, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Lalu Alex, Kaniha, Jagadish, Mallika Sukumaran, Soubin Shahir and Unni Mukundan in supporting roles. The songs and background score for the film were composed by Deepak Dev.
Kaanchi is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language action drama film directed by G. N. Krishnakumar and written by B. Jeyamohan, starring Indrajith Sukumaran, Murali Gopy, Shine Tom Chacko and Archanna Guptaa.
Lucifer is the soundtrack album to the 2019 Malayalam-language political action thriller film of the same name directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran starring Mohanlal. The soundtrack featured five songs composed by Deepak Dev and lyrics written by Tanishk Nabar, Logan, Amsi Narayanapilla, Murali Gopy and Usha Uthup. The songs were performed by Jyotsna Radhakrishnan, Karthik, Baradwaj, Gopy and Uthup.
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