Director of L2: Empuraan Prithviraj Sukumaran has reportedly received a notice from the Income Tax Department, a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at locations linked to the film’s producer.

L2: Empuraan, a Malayalam film starring Mohanlal, has faced backlash from Hindutva supporters and political figures over its depiction of the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Following the controversy, the filmmakers edited the film post-release — changing a character’s name that resembled Gujarat riots convict Babu Bajrangi and removing a reference to the year “2002” from a text card depicting the violence.

On April 4, the ED searched multiple locations in Kerala and Tamil Nadu associated with businessman Gokulam Gopalan, the film’s producer.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the raids are part of a probe into alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) involving Gopalan and his company, Sree Gokulam Chit and Finance Co Ltd. Officials said that five premises were covered during the operation. The case involves suspected FEMA violations worth Rs 1,000 crore, unauthorised foreign transactions, and other allegations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The next day, on April 5, Prithviraj Sukumaran received a notice from the Income Tax Department, The News Minute reported.

The notice, dated March 29 — coinciding with the release of L2: Empuraan — seeks details about his earnings from three of his 2022 films: Jana Gana Mana, Gold, and Kaduva.

The report adds that the notice is part of a larger investigation launched in December 2022 into the Malayalam film industry’s finances. The I-T department is reportedly probing Prithviraj’s involvement as a co-producer on the films, particularly noting that he did not draw any remuneration for his acting roles in them. He has been asked to respond by April 29.