'L2: Empuraan' row: Income Tax raid conducted at Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Kerala home

Malayalam actor and filmmaker Prithviraj Sukumaran’s home was among several properties raided by the Income Tax Department in Kerala as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion within the Malayalam film industry.

The homes and offices of other prominent producers — including Antony Perumbavoor, Listin Stephen, and Anto Joseph — were also searched during the operation, which began early in the morning and reportedly continued for over 21 hours.

According to Kerala Kaumudi report, the raids were carried out without prior notice to local police, and IT teams arrived in six vehicles at Prithviraj’s Thiruvananthapuram residence.

In a separate statement, Prithviraj denied rumors that he had paid a Rs 25 crore fine to the Enforcement Directorate. He called the claims — originally circulated by YouTube channel Marunadan Malayali — “false and defamatory,” and stated that he will be pursuing civil and criminal defamation proceedings. He clarified that he has not paid any fines and said there is a limit to “propagating absolute lies in the name of news”.

It was also reported that this crackdown is part of a broader financial review of major producers and distributors within the Malayalam film sector, particularly around unaccounted income and potential violations of tax laws.

The IT raids on actor-director Prithviraj’s home and the homes of Empuraan’s producers are being widely seen as fallout from the political controversy surrounding the film. A day before Prithviraj’s house was searched, raids were conducted on the homes of Gokulam Gopalan and other key backers of the film. The movie has come under heavy fire from right-wing groups, which accused Empuraan of being anytHindu” and “anti-Bharat” for its depiction of the 2002 Gujarat riots and institutions like the judiciary and police in a negative light.

This has led to calls for a boycott, social media outrage, and political pressure, despite the Kerala BJP publicly downplaying the backlash. In response to the furore, the producers agreed to make 17 cuts to the film, including muting dialogues and altering character names. The timing of the raids, coming right after this backlash and just as the film was gaining box-office momentum, has sparked speculation about a political motive behind the action.