Empuraan X Review: What Audiences Are Saying About Mohanlal And Prithviraj Sukumaran's Action Thriller Film

Empuraan X Review: Mohanlal's highly anticipated action thriller Empuraan has finally arrived in theaters worldwide on March 27, 2025. Directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran and written by Murali Gopy, the film serves as the second installment in the Lucifer trilogy. Jointly produced by Aashirvad Cinemas and Sree Gokulam Movies, with Lyca Productions presenting it, Empuraan brings back Mohanlal in the titular role, supported by an ensemble cast including Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manju Warrier, Tovino Thomas, Indrajith Sukumaran, Abhimanyu Singh, Eriq Ebouaney, Game of Thrones star Jerome Flynn, Saikumar, Baiju Santhosh, and Suraj Venjaramoodu.

Empuraan, which hit theaters today, has been highly anticipated by audiences. With its engaging promotions, the film has generated immense excitement. Stay tuned for viewer reviews and reactions on X (formerly Twitter).

From Concept to Screen: The Journey of Empuraan

From the start, Lucifer was envisioned as a trilogy. The success of the first film paved the way for Empuraan, officially announced in June 2019. Initially planned for mid-2020, production faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Writer Murali Gopy used this time to further expand the film's narrative, broadening its scope while ensuring it remained accessible as a standalone story, even for those unfamiliar with Lucifer.

The screenplay was finalized in July 2022, and pre-production began the following month. Lyca Productions joined in September 2023, marking their Malayalam cinema debut. Financial disagreements led to Gopalam joining as a co-producer in March 2025. The film's soundtrack is composed by Deepak Dev.

Filming spanned 145 days from October 2023 to December 2024, covering locations in India, the UK, the US, and the UAE. Empuraan is also the first Malayalam film to release in IMAX and EPIQ formats.

Empuraan Cast

Mohanlal reprises his role as Khureshi Ab'raam / Stephen Nedumpally. Prithviraj Sukumaran plays Zayed Masood, Abhimanyu Singh portrays Balraj, and Tovino Thomas appears as Jathin Ramdas. Manju Warrier returns as Priyadarshini Ramdas, with Andrea Tivadar as Michele Menuhin and Jerome Flynn as Boris Oliver. Indrajith Sukumaran plays Govardhan, while Karthikeya Dev portrays a younger Zayed Masood.

The supporting cast includes Kishore as Karthik, Sukant Goel as Munna, Suraj Venjaramoodu as Sajanachandran, Eriq Ebouaney as Kabuga, Nikhat Khan as Subhadra Ben, Fazil as Father Nedumpally, Sachin Khedekar as P. K. Ramdas, and Saikumar as Mahesha Varma. Additional cast members include Baiju Santhosh, Nandhu, Saniya Iyappan, Satyajit Sharma, Oziel Jivani, Aishwarya Ohja, Nayan Bhatt, Shubhangi Latkar, Alexx O'Nell, Mikhail Novikov, Murugan Martin, Shivaji Guruvayoor, Manikuttan, Nyla Usha, Giju John, Behzaad Khan, Aneesh G. Menon, Sshivada, and Jaise Jose.

Empuraan Crew

Directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran, Empuraan is produced by Antony Perumbavoor and Gokulam Gopalan under Aashirvad Cinemas and Sree Gokulam Movies. Murali Gopy wrote the screenplay, with cinematography by Sujith Vaassudev and editing by Akhilesh Mohan. Deepak Dev composed the music, and M R Rajakrishnan handled sound design.

Executive producers Suresh Balaje and George Pius worked alongside production controller Sidhu Panakkal and art director Mohandas. Don Max edited teaser cuts, while Vava served as chief associate director, and Nirmal Sahadev as creative director. Stunt Silva choreographed action sequences, Sujith Sudhakaran designed costumes, and Sreejith Guruvayoor managed makeup.

The film's VFX was supervised by Praveen Ghanta, with work from YFX Studios, Labyrinth Studios Mumbai, Binary Circus, Paperplane, Ident, and DTM. Huseini Barodawala served as YFX producer, and Vishal Tyagi managed special effects. Renith Ravindran was the first associate director, and production executives included Saji Joseph and Sethu Adoor.

Finance manager Basil M Babu and production manager Sasidharan Kandanassery handled logistical aspects. RP Bala directed multilingual dubbing, and DI was done at Annapurna Studios with Vivek Anand as the colorist. Sinat Savier managed still photography, Anand Rajendran (Illuminartist) handled design, and Poffactio oversaw promotions.