Kochi: Gokulam Gopalan, an entrepreneur and producer of the Malayalam movie “Empuraan”, has received another notice from the Enforcement Directorate to appear before it on April 22.
This follows a six-hour interrogation session on Monday during which Gopalan’s remarks, the papers he submitted, and his assertions are being reviewed.
The ED has said that it previously discovered a FEMA regulation breach and is now looking into whether there were further violations.
Gopalan has been summoned by the ED to come in person or send a representative to be questioned on April 22.
Earlier, Antony Perumbavoor, another Empuraan producer, received a notification from the Income Tax Department asking for information about purported financial transactions involving his previously funded films “Lucifer” and “Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea”.
The notification is a follow-up to the previous raids in 2022, according to sources in the Income Tax Department. Authorities have made it clear that the newly released and “controversial” movie Empuraan has nothing to do with the present notice or the proceedings.
The offices and homes of a number of Keralan filmmakers were searched by the Income Tax Department in 2022. According to reports, Aashirvad Cinemas, purportedly owned by Antony Perumbavoor, was one of five production businesses targeted by the searches. According to reports, during the preliminary processes, these firms’ purported financial activities from 2019 to 2022 were reviewed. They stated that the department’s follow-up investigations include the most recent notification to Perumbavoor.
The creators of “Empuraan” recently made voluntary changes in response to criticism.
Those connected to the Sangh Parivar groups condemned the film’s producers, claiming that it contains “anti-national” elements, while the major opposition, the United Democratic Front (UDF), headed by the Congress in Kerala, and the government Left parties supported the film’s creators. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the state president of the BJP, was among the politicians who promised never to see the movie.
