Prithviraj Sukumaran’s ‘Empuraan’, starring Mohanlal, aims for the sky but doesn’t quite get there

The globe-trotting imagination is epic, but despite good performances, the film does not connect at a human, emotional level. The rest of this review may contain spoilers.

Imagine a scene where a man gets a call that the people who wiped out his family have been found, and he can finally have his revenge. How would you stage this moment? At the most basic level, all this scene needs is a shot of the caller, and a shot of the person receiving this call. Right? But that’s not enough for director Prithviraj Sukumaran. Under his staging, the scene is set in the deserts of Yemen, where this man – this revenge-seeking man – is standing tall on a dune. He is looking at three black cars, whose wheels are sending the sand flying in slow-motion. He gets the call. He gets the news. And then, he gets to save a little girl, just like he was saved as a little boy. The opening of the scene is epic. The ending is (meant to be) intimate. Multiply this feel over three hours, and you get Empuraan.

You can read the rest of the review here:

https://www.galattaplus.com/prithviraj-sukumarans-empuraan-starring-mohanlal-aims-for-the-sky-but-doesnt-quite-get-there/

You can watch the trailer / video review here:

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