India, March 30 -- Amid a backlash against his newly-released film 'L2: Empuraan' over its covert references to the Gujarat riots, actor Mohanlal has expressed regret for "causing emotional distress" among a section of his fans and announced the decision by the film's makers to remove the controversial scenes.

The statement by the veteran Malayalam actor comes a day after it was reported that the film's makers have voluntarily agreed to make several changes including muting some dialogues. The film's version with those changes will likely hit theatres next week.

In a Facebook post, Mohanlal wrote, "I learn that some of the political and social themes that have been incorporated into the film 'Empuraan', the second installment in the Luc...