Daijiworld Media Network - Chennai

Chennai, Apr 4: Controversy continues to swirl around the Malayalam film Empuraan, as Tamil Nadu politicians have now raised objections over certain scenes believed to mirror the real-life Mullaperiyar dam a long-standing flashpoint between Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The debate reached the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday, where Water Resources minister Durai Murugan expressed strong concerns, despite not having watched the movie himself. “If such a scene was indeed portrayed, it is unnecessary... The film could even cause trouble in other states,” he said.

Chief Minister MK Stalin acknowledged that the film had not drawn objections during the censorship process. “Only after the film’s release and public backlash did the controversial scene get removed,” Stalin informed the Assembly.

Speaker M Appavu stated that the demand from various quarters was to stop screening scenes that were perceived to allude to the Mullaperiyar dam. “If those scenes are cut, there is no problem,” he said, urging a deeper review before action is taken.

The fictional dam shown in Empuraan is located in a place called Nedumpally, but political leaders, including MDMK’s Rajya Sabha MP Vaiko, believe it symbolically refers to Mullaperiyar. Vaiko alleged that the movie hints at the dam’s potential collapse and includes dialogues suggesting it could be destroyed with explosives.

“Dialogues in four different scenes state that even though the British have left and the king is also gone, the dam would still destroy Kerala,” Vaiko stated in his objection, accusing the filmmakers of fear-mongering.

He also criticized the movie for disregarding the Supreme Court-appointed committee’s findings on the dam’s structural integrity, claiming the film seeks to incite fear among Keralites.

Empuraan, already facing backlash from right-wing outfits for allegedly anti-Hindu content, now finds itself under intensified scrutiny, as regional sensitivities around the dam resurface.