“Empuraan is just a bluff”: Former DGP R. Sreelekha slams Mohanlal-Prithviraj film

Former Kerala DGP R. Sreelekha has stirred up controversy with her sharp criticism of Empuraan, the much-anticipated political action thriller starring Mohanlal and directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran.



In a new video shared on her official YouTube channel, Sreelekha accused the film of promoting a deliberate and dangerous political message.

“Empuraan is just a bluff”

“I watched Empuraan. I wasn’t planning to,” she began. In her vlog titled “Empuraan is just a bluff”, the retired IPS officer dissected the film’s themes and raised concerns about its influence on public perception.


“What the film intends to say didn’t happen accidentally. I believe there is a definite agenda behind it,” she stated. “The message the film gives society is extremely negative.”

She speculated that the movie, released close to the general elections, may have been made to dissuade those who support the BJP. “I even doubt whether the film was made with the intention to turn people away from those who support the BJP, especially with the elections around the corner,” she said.

Has same level of violence as ‘Marco’

Drawing comparisons to ‘Marco’, Unni Mukundan’s recently released film, which was criticized for excessive violence, she noted, “Almost the same level of violence runs throughout this film too. Yet, no one seems to be talking about it.”

Sreelekha, once an admirer of Mohanlal, expressed disappointment: “Mohanlal was one of my most favorite actors in Malayalam cinema. But not just because of Empuraan, several of his recent films have been disappointing.”

She also criticized the film’s stance on crime and morality, saying, “Killing people in the name of stopping the narcotics business is justified, but drugs are shown as dirty ('Narcotics is a dirty business' dialogue). That hypocrisy reminded me of Lucifer. The same thing is being repeated.”

She concluded, “Empuraan sounds like ‘Embran’. They’re calling it a version of ‘Overlord’.”