Kumar Siddhartha, Pune
Emergency, Kangana Ranaut’s film, focuses on former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. According to Makkhan Lal, historian, “it was factual and sympathetic”. Invited by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) as a subject expert to review the film, Lal said even the Congress party could not have produced a better historical depiction of Gandhi. He stated that he liked the movie, as he says, Ranaut did not deviate even 0.01% from all facts historically. He further added saying that the film is unbiased and presents the persona of Gandhi in respect.
However, historian have suggested that the ending of the film must be changed to what is presently ending with ‘an image of Indira Gandhi’; it is historically incomplete and would portray a one-sided story. He has further added that a small portion, say 20 or 30 seconds of what should follow aftermath of Gandhi’s assassination, mainly about the Rajiv Gandhi statement, “when a tree falls…”, the Sikhs who were massacred. According to Lal, this was merely to try to give a more balanced view of what ensued after her death without controversy.
Scheduled for release on September 6, the CBFC put the film’s release on hold pending clearance.
On September 18, in an affidavit filed in the Bombay High Court, the CBFC said that its examining committee, “due to the narrative and subject of the film”, had invited a “subject expert” who watched the screening, and that Lal’s presence was sought for this purpose.
According to the testimony of the CBFC in the Bombay High Court, the UA certification issued to the film was canceled following protests and representations by sikh groups. The two scenes singled out as being particularly contentious include: one in which Sikhs open fire on innocents, and another in which Bhindranwale deals with Sanjay Gandhi.
Sikh organizations have protested that the film gives a distorted view of their community and have appealed for a stay on the screening. In this regard, Lal dismissed such allegations as baseless saying Bhindranwale was an individual, not representative of the Sikh community.
The film is written by Ritesh Shah’s script and stars Ranaut along with supporting performances from Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Mahima Choudhary, and late Satish Kaushik. Ranaut directed Emergency, which is now in the Bombay HC’s waiting list, after it directed the CBFC to finally place its conclusions by September 26, 2024.