‘Silence is an answer in itself', says Empuraan screenwriter for the first time

Indian Express

25-04-2025

Award-winning Malayalam actor, screenwriter, singer and author Murali Gopy started his career as a journalist in 1995. He debuted as screenwriter, actor and singer in the 2004 film Rasikan and quit journalism in 2012 to be more active in films. He then went on to pen six more films, including Ee Adutha Kaalathu (2012), Tiyaan (2017), Kammara Sambhavam (2018), Left Right Left (2013), Lucifer (2019) and L2: Empuraan. Son of legendary Malayalam actor Bharat Gopy, Murali has also acted in over 25 films.
His recent superhit L2: Empuraan — a sequel to Lucifer — has courted controversy from right-wing quarters, prompting the makers to initiate several cuts and a re-release. In his first-ever interview after the release of L2: Empuraan, Murali elaborates on his craft, why his scripts are deemed daring and how he develops his characters. Edited excerpts:
What according to you is a political film?
Every film is political. In the sense that every human interaction is political at its core.
How important are movies that depict political parties and national politics? Do you think they can influence citizen consciousness?
The importance of things is very subjective. However, in a democracy, all angles of the polity must be explored on the creative front, with the aim to facilitate a more expansive outlook. But a feature film is basically fictional, and its role in imparting awareness depends and gets defined purely on who is watching it and from where.
Did your tenure as a journalist influence your movies' political undertones? The news frames in your movies give a cue.
May have. May have not.
Is it essential that a writer's politics reflects in his/her work?
Not necessarily. The writer is an observer of sorts. He is neither an opinion leader nor a commentator. His sole purpose is to reflect on something that he thinks is to be reflected upon.
Why did you choose to be silent during the Empuraan controversy?
Because silence is an answer in itself.
Did the controversy affect you personally or professionally?
I have always believed that a writer is only functioning as a channel for a certain idea to be manifested on paper and beyond. I have always looked at each of my films as my first and last one. Such is the unpredictability of the times we live in. Controversy is not new to me. I just move on and try to do my work to the best of my abilities and as long as I am allowed to do it.
Actor, screenwriter, singer, lyricist. Which one do you enjoy the most and which one requires the maximum effort?
I enjoy doing whatever I am entrusted with, at a given moment.
What has helped you don various hats — of actor, writer, singer? How has your father inspired you?
He has always been my greatest inspiration. His focus and discipline with his art and craft have always been my touchstone.
How do you bring such strong emotions and characters in your writing? For instance, Indrajith Sukumaran's role as Vattu Jayan and yours as Che Guevara Roy in Left Right Left?
The people that you come across, the situations that get played out within and outside of you, the drama that unfolds within and beyond… every such thing plays a part in your writing. I can also say with confidence that within the being of a writer, one can find a million characters: alive, dormant or dead.
What's your foremost priority while writing a script? Do thoughts about the box office influence the process?
My priority is to be sincere to the source within — which has given me the thought, the theme and the method to write.
Some of your scripts — the recent being Empuraan — are deemed brave. How do you make such daring attempts?
On a sunny, democratic day, I do not see any reason for a fiction writer's works to be deemed brave. If they are indeed deemed brave, I think some really deviant energy, which is threatening the very essence of creativity and democracy, has found its way into our collective consciousness and our social fabric. And we must really look into it.
Malayalam movies have a wider audience now with OTT and other platforms. How do you prepare to cater to a wider audience?
I don't prepare specifically to cater to any specific audience.
While creating characters, do you keep actors in mind?
As the characters get evolved on paper, suitable actors do appear in mind.
When a new movie is released, reviews flood all platforms. How much do they help with a movie's performance? Or do you think a movie's performance is beyond reviews?
My personal opinion is that movie reviewing is now a cut-throat commercial endeavour. So, I look at it as a well-planned business. These days, they neither help in determining a movie's performance nor are they good view assists. Like mainstream movies, they, too, have become a part of entertainment. One can even start reviewing the reviewer.
I listen carefully and intently to see where the criticism is coming from and why. If it prods an introspection, I definitely take it in.
Are you planning to take up more acting projects? The audience may want it. How about acting in other languages?
Of course. I love acting, and the long gaps between my on-screen outings are purely because of the time and energy that get invested into my writing. But yes, I will be acting more.
Tell us about your new projects?
The film I am writing next is being directed by Jiyen Krishnakumar. It is slated for a mid-2025 release. This movie will also be my next release as an actor.