KOCHI: The newly announced Lucifer sequel, titled Empuraan, will follow Mohanlal’s directorial debut Barroz, revealed Prithviraj at the press meet hosted at Mohanlal’s residence in Kochi. Prithviraj, who will be once again returning to the director’s chair, said the film will commence shooting in the second half of next year after he completes his present commitments, which includes Kammara Sambhavam-director Rathish Ambat’s next film scripted by Murali Gopy.
Prithviraj went on to add that it was Lucifer’s success that gave them the confidence to go ahead with the sequel. “When we planned Lucifer and officially launched it back in 2016-2017, it had a budget of Rs. 30 crores, a sum unimaginable at the time in Malayalam cinema. But Lalettan’s stardom gave us the leverage to do something of that magnitude.”
Both Prithviraj and Murali had a clear idea on which direction the sequel should go in. The former revealed that Empuraan is both a sequel and prequel. This immediately brings to mind Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather-II, the sequel to The Godfather, which narrated in flashbacks the rise of the first film’s central character while continuing the story of his son.
“Murali and I already had the sequel’s form in mind. So we called Antony and informed him about the challenges and grandeur it would require. He confidently said we can pull it off and that there is a scope for pushing the commercial boundaries,” recalled Prithviraj.
Murali said that Lucifer was conceived as a franchise. “We initially planned it as a series, but Lucifer’s success opened new doors for us. Hopefully, the second part will reveal more layers and people will like it.”
Empuraan will be comparatively bigger than Lucifer, continued Prithviraj. “We know how to go about it, but there are a lot of factors to be taken care of first—the logistical challenges, casting, schedules, and so on. I found the shoot of Lucifer to be the easiest part because we had spent six months on pre-production, which made everything run smoothly. I hope to do the same with Empuraan too.” Prithviraj’s character from the original, Zayed Masood, will have a more prominent role this time around.
“The film will be shot in many locations, but Kerala will remain the main location,” he informed. So what does Empuraan really mean? “Someone who is more than a king, but less than a god. I guess ‘overlord’ would be the literal translation,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Prithviraj is busy with the filming of Kalabhavan Shajohn’s directorial debut, Brother’s Day, which is expected to be a multi-ingredient crowd-pleaser.