“Main Hi Cabinet Hoon, Rashtrapati Ji,” Indira Gandhi tells the President when the latter cites the need for the Emergency to be ratified by the Union Cabinet. The moment sums up the title of ‘Emergency,’ the Kangana Ranaut-directed film that hit the theatres last Friday.
Ranaut’s first solo directorial encountered many delays before it was released on January 17. The Central Board of Film Certification allowed the release after suggesting some cuts due to certain objections by religious groups.
Honestly, I have been a fan of Kangana Ranaut’s acting prowess. When she dropped the film’s first look featuring her as India’s first and till date the only woman prime minister Indira Gandhi, I was thoroughly impressed. It was evident that the actor had done immense hard work to get into the skin of her character.
As a journalist with a keen interest in politics, I have read a lot of books and watched several interviews of the late former prime minister. As a political buff, I had huge expectations from the film, centered around the darkest chapter in India’s political history.
Kudos to Kangana for effortlessly essaying the role of Indira Gandhi. She does deserve accolades for her performance. But I am a bit disappointed with the film.
Emergency plot
The film begins with Anand Bhawan in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), where a young Indu is playing hide and seek with her friends outside the palatial house of the Nehrus. She is outraged to see the ill-treatment of her mother by her aunt Vijayalakshmi Pandit.
After being berated by her ‘bua’, Indu rushes to her father Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, asking him to throw her aunt out of the house. Nehru in a jovial mood, asks her to say this to her grandfather, Pandit Motilal Nehru. It is the patriarch who teaches Indu the biggest lesson in politics,”Jiske Haath Me Satta Hoti Hai, Wo Kehlata Hai Shaasak (The one who has power, is called the ruler).
Indu is none other than Indira Gandhi, who witnessed ups and downs in her life. The film traces several key events in her political and personal life, right from her troubled marriage with Feroze Gandhi to her ambitious and dominant younger son Sanjay Gandhi. And not to forget, Emergency, which changed the political course and direction in the country.
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Emergency cast and crew
As mentioned earlier, Emergency features Kangana Ranaut as Indira Gandhi. Anupam Kher essays the role of Jayaprakash Narayan, while Shreyas Talpade plays Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Vishak Nair plays the role of Sanjay Gandhi, the younger son of Indira Gandhi. Honestly speaking, he has done full justice to the role of the Gandhi scion, who was notorious for his ‘high-handedness’ during the 18 months of Emergency.
Why am I disappointed with Emergency?
The title of the film ‘Emergency’ had generated a lot of curiosity among movie goers and political buffs including me. For the first time, someone had dared to play the role of Indira Gandhi and touch upon the controversial Emergency.
Emergency is a broad subject which can guarantee a full web show. As a result, confining it to a movie would always be a challenge for any filmmaker. But to my utter disappointment, the entire film was like a cinematic biography of Indira Gandhi. The Emergency is a part of the film, not the central theme as the title suggested.
Kangana Ranaut did full justice to Indira Gandhi by neither whitewashing her image nor demonising her. All the major political events are shown in the film and are factual. But somehow it seemed that the filmmaker was in a hurry to portray maximum events in the shortest possible time. As a result, the film is too pacy at times.
But still, I would say that Emergency is one of Kangana’s best performances to date. The hard work is reflected in the character she portrayed in the film. Even if you are not a Kangana fan, or strongly disagree with her political opinion, I suggest you can watch the movie to appreciate the hard work of an actor.