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Spoiler Alert: Plot Revealed Ahead
L2: Empuraan begins with a riot that took place about two decades ago. It depicts the backstory of Zayed Masood, who was then a teenager, portrayed by Karthikeya Dev. During the riot, he loses everything, including his family. The person leading the attack against them is Bajrang, portrayed by Abhimanyu Singh.
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Afterward, Zayed gets entangled with terrorists and is taken to Pakistan for further training. During the transport of the trainees, he is rescued by Mohanlal’s character, Khureshi-Ab’raam, also known as Stephen Nedumpally in Kerala. Khureshi-Ab’raam offers the young Zayed Masood a chance for revenge and takes him under his wing.
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More than two decades have passed, and Zayed Masood, now an adult, is portrayed by Prithviraj Sukumaran. It has been five years since the events of Lucifer, and Kerala is once again on the brink of an election. Stephen Nedumpally, also known as Khureshi-Ab’raam, left the state five years ago, placing its leadership in the hands of Jathin Ramdas, played by Tovino Thomas. However, Jathin has not lived up to Stephen’s expectations. He now faces allegations of bribery, including accepting illicit payments for the construction of a check dam, a highly controversial project that threatens to submerge multiple villages and devastate the region’s natural ecosystem.
In the film, Jathin Ramdas is accused of using bribery money to fund his upcoming election campaign. However, this seems unnecessary, as Khureshi-Ab’raam is already financing the Manappalli Group, a diversified business conglomerate that, in turn, funds IUF, the political party Jathin belongs to. The film does not indicate any financial struggles within Khureshi-Ab’raam nexus, meaning Jathin could have simply requested additional funds from his older brother through Manapattil Chandy, rather than resorting to bribery.
Without the bribery allegations, there would be no justification for Jathin’s decision to align with Akhanda Shakthi Morcha (ASM), the ruling party at the central level, which wields the power to pressure him through its agencies. As a result, the only motive for him to split his party and form a new faction under ASM’s influence is the bribery scandal. However, given his existing access to ample funding, his involvement in bribery appears illogical.
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To announce his move, he holds a rally and declares the formation of his new political party, IUF PKR, while announcing his alliance with ASM. This shocks everyone, including the media, his sister, his IUF party members, and the general public. However, this creates a second inconsistency: no one was supposed to know about his alliance with ASM. Yet, low-level ASM party members are present at the event, and after his announcement, ASM flags are raised—suggesting that many within ASM already knew about it.
Moreover, how could Bajrang arrive at the event in a helicopter without prior clearance from the Authorities including Air traffic control? This implies that many people were already informed about the event in advance. Even if the general public was unaware, high-ranking politicians and other insiders would have found it suspicious, making it unlikely that the announcement would have been a complete shock.
Shifting focus from domestic politics, Khureshi-Ab’raam is in Senegal, where he intercepts a drug convoy, opposing the narcotics trade. The narcotics operation is overseen by Kabuga, an African crime lord linked to the Shen Triad, an Afro-Chinese crime syndicate. Assisting them is Interpol agent Robert McCarthy, who appears to have been kidnapped by Kabuga but is secretly working with them. Another key player in this network is Sergei Leonov, a former member of Khureshi-Ab’raam’s Nexus.
Khureshi-Ab’raam’s Nexus intercepts the cargo, launching a deadly attack that eliminates everyone, including Interpol agent Robert McCarthy, while taking Sergei Leonov alive. The killing of an Interpol agent prompts Western intelligence agencies to retaliate, aiming to dismantle Khureshi-Ab’raam Nexus entirely. Leading the operation is MI6 officer Boris Oliver, who, unbeknownst to his superiors, is a double agent secretly working for Khureshi-Ab’raam. Meanwhile, Michelle Menuhin, heading the task force against Khureshi-Ab’raam, has no ties to any crime syndicates, her only mission is to bring down Khureshi-Ab’raam for McCarthy’s murder.
There’s a contradiction in how Khureshi-Ab’raam’s Nexus is depicted. In Lucifer, it is primarily a mercenary group engaged in post-war reconstruction, with only minor references to scrap gold dealings in the Middle East. However, here, it functions as a large-scale smuggling syndicate trading in diamonds and gold to fund benevolent causes. The issue is that diamonds derive their value mainly from certification by organizations like GIA or IGI, and their raw, uncut form is significantly less valuable.
Moreover, the diamond market is tightly controlled by monopolies like De Beers, making large-scale smuggling impractical. Gold smuggling, on the other hand, is far more feasible since gold doesn’t require certification, can be easily melted and reshaped, and retains its rarity. That said, mercenary work is a far more compelling and intimidating business model for an organization that supposedly operates from the shadows, influencing global affairs.
Coming back to the plot, Govardhan, played by Indrajith Sukumaran seeks a meeting with Stephen, aka Khureshi-Ab’raam, but is drugged and taken to New York, where they finally meet. Aware of the situation in Kerala, Khureshi-Ab’raam assures Govardhan he will return after completing his current mission and gives Govardhan instructions before they part ways. He then heads to Iraq, seemingly to negotiate peace with Kabuga, but in reality, he has set a trap to eliminate him.
Meanwhile, intelligence agencies, led by Michelle Menuhin, launch an operation against Khureshi-Ab’raam. For the first time, Khureshi-Ab’raam’s face is revealed to the world as a drone captures footage of him entering a building, moments before it explodes, injuring Michelle. Presumed dead, Khureshi-Ab’raam secretly escapes but Kabuga is killed.
In Kerala, Priyadarshini (Manju Warrier), Chief Minister Jathin’s elder sister, joins a protest against the controversial dam, openly opposing Jathin. However, she is attacked mid-speech, forcing her to flee into the forest. Stephen, now back in Kerala, rescues her and urges her to take a leadership role in the IUF.
Meanwhile, Jathin blindly accepts an Intelligence Bureau officer’s claim that Maoists were behind the attack without verifying it through other sources. This is inconsistent, as Kerala’s Home Ministry has its own efficient intelligence units, such as the Shadow Police and Special Branch, which have proven effective in past cases. Given their capabilities, it is unrealistic that they would fail to prevent or properly investigate an attack on someone as high-profile as Priyadarshini.
The attack was orchestrated by goons dispatched by ASM. Although Stephen uncovered the plan to target Priyadarshini, the state police remained unaware. In recent years, there have been instances in Kerala where intelligence successfully predicted events. Real life examples include concerns about ADGP M. R. Ajith’s alleged involvement in the Thrissur Pooram sabotage were reported to the Home Ministry before any incidents occurred. Similarly, intelligence reports emerged two years before the CSR fund scam was exposed.
Priyadarshini delivers a powerful speech at the party office but is soon arrested by central agencies on money laundering charges, just as Stephen had predicted. Meanwhile, Jathin meets ASM leader Munna while traveling to see Bajrang, but Stephen kidnaps both Jathin and Munna. Despite ASM being the ruling party, the central government takes no immediate action; instead, Stephen pressures it—through Bajrang—to drop all charges against Priyadarshini. After her release, Stephen lures Bajrang to the site of Zayed’s family massacre, where Munna is killed in an explosion, and Zayed executes Bajrang. Strangely, despite these high-profile killings, the Indian government and its agencies take no action against Stephen.
Earlier, Bajrang had planted bombs in a dam to trigger massive flooding in Kerala. However, acting on a tip-off, authorities discovered and defused the explosives in time. This attack wouldn’t have benefited ASM, just as their previous attempt to eliminate Priyadarshini—possibly to generate a sympathy wave that could aid Jathin—was an extremely risky move. If ASM’s involvement in her assassination had been exposed, it could have backfired. Moreover, arresting her publicly, especially before she had fully established herself as a leader, might have garnered sympathy and strengthened her support.
In the film, her attempted murder was blamed on Maoists but, ASM was behind the attack—not as a ploy to create sympathy. Given the high risk and uncertain reward, it’s unlikely that ASM would have targeted Priyadarshini.
Afterward, Priya officially becomes the leader of IUF. Meanwhile, Stephen, who is holding Jathin captive on an oil rig, gives him an ultimatum. Since Jathin no longer holds any power, Stephen tells him that he should support Priya. If he refuses, he will continue making mistakes and ultimately meet the same fate as Bajrang and Munna.
Without saying anything, Jathin boards a helicopter for his return journey. However, mid-flight, the helicopter explodes, killing him. This assassination was carried out by the Shen Triad as revenge for the murder of Kabuga. As part of their retaliation, the Shen Triad also kills the MI6 double agent.
In the post-credit scene, the leader of the Shen Triad expresses his desire to uncover the origins of Khureshi-Ab’raam. This leads to a flashback set in Mumbai, seemingly in the 1980s, where a young Stephen is seen engaged in a fierce battle against multiple opponents.
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