Emergency: What Priyanka Told Kangana

‘Indira
Gandhi
was
a
very
weak
person,’
Kangana
claimed.
‘She
had
many
crutches
around
and
was
constantly
seeking
validation.’

Priyanka
Gandhi
Vadra
complimented
Kangana
Ranaut
on
her
work
and
her
hair
when
they
crossed
paths
in
Parliament
and
responded
with
an
“okay,
maybe”
when
the
actor
and
BJP
MP
asked
the
Congress
leader
to
watch
her
new
film

Emergency.

The
much
in
the
news
film
sees
Ranaut
playing
the
late
Indira
Gandhi,
Priyanka
Gandhi’s
grandmother.
Directed
and
produced
by
Ranaut,
it
documents
the
21
months
of
the
Emergency
imposed
between
June
25-26,
1975
and
March
21,
1977
by
Indira
Gandhi,
then
India’s
prime
minister.

“I
met
Mrs
Priyanka
Gandhi
in
Parliament
and
she
complimented
me
on
my
work
and
my
hair.
So
I
was
like,
You
know,
I
made
this
film

Emergency
and
maybe
you
should
see
it’.
And
she
was
like,
‘Okay,
maybe’.
And
I
think
if
they
have
a
little
bit
of
acceptance
for
what
has
been,
they
will
appreciate
the
film,”
Ranaut
told
PTI
in
a
video
interview
about
her
brief
interaction
with
the
Wayanad
MP.

The
film
will
release
on
January
17
after
months
of
controversy
over
its
censor
certificate
and
allegations
that
it
misrepresents
the
Sikh
community.

Ranaut,
the
BJP
MP
from
Mandi,
said
she
took
“no
liberties
at
all”
in
the
portrayal
of
Indira
Gandhi
and
the
Emergency
era.

The
actor
added
that
she
thought
Indira
Gandhi
was
a
“very
powerful
person”
before
she
started
working
on

Emergency.

“But
when
I
did
my
research,
I
understood
it
was
quite
the
contrary.
It
also
strengthened
my
belief
that
the
weaker
you
are,
the
more
control
you
would
want.
She
was
a
very
weak
person
and
she
was
also
very
unsure
of
herself
and
really
vulnerable,”
Kangana
claimed.

“She
had
many
crutches
around
and
she
was
constantly
seeking
a
kind
of
validation.
She
was
also
hugely
dependent
on
many
people,
one
of
them
was
Sanjay
Gandhi…
I
didn’t
have
that
kind
of
empathy
for
her
before

Emergency.”

According
to
the
first-time
MP,
“people”
tried
hard
to
stop

Emergency
from
releasing.

“I
was
completely
devastated.
I
thought
maybe
it
will
never
see
the
light
of
the
day.
Because
there
was
earlier
a
film
on
Mrs
Gandhi
called

Kissa
Kursi
Ka.
I
thought
maybe
it’s
jinxed
or
something
that
you
can’t
make
a
film
on
her…
And
I
had
also
put
some
investments
into
it.
There
were
a
lot
of
issues,
obviously
I
was
disheartened,”
Ranaut
said.

Emergency
missed
out
on
its
September
6,
2024
release
date
as
it
was
unable
to
obtain
the
clearance
certificate
from
the
Central
Board
of
Film
Certification
(CBFC).

Ranaut
had
then
accused
the
CBFC
of
stalling
the
certification.
The
matter
went
to
the
Bombay
high
court
where
production
banner
Zee
Studios
eventually
agreed
to
comply
with
the
changes
suggested
by
CBFC’s
revising
committee.

She
did
not
reveal
the
number
of
cuts
the
CBFC
directed
but
said
she
would
have
liked
the
film
to
release
the
way
she
had
made
it.

The
film,
Ranaut
said,
has
not
been
made
with
the
intention
of
hurting
people
or
their
sentiments.
“As
the
film
is
not
made
with
that
intention,
even
if
that
was
removed,
it
doesn’t
impact
my
story.”

Describing

Emergency
as
an
“unusual
and
controversial”
film,
Ranaut
said
audiences
are
used
to
watching
traditional
song-and-dance
movies
from
Bollywood.

“But
when
you
have
something
so
unusual,
people
are
a
bit
unsettled
about
it.
‘How
come
she
made
a
film
like
this?’
This
is
controversial
and
talks
about
a
very
important
chapter
in
history.”

“Since
my
film
was
deeply
scrutinised,
I
had
to
present
proof
of
the
documentation,
the
source,
everything.
I
had
to
face
a
lot
of
setbacks,
challenges,
scrutiny
and
all
kinds
of
pressures.
They
say
truth
eventually
trumps
over
everything.
We
presented
all
the
proof,”
the
actor-director
said.

“Different
communities,
(political)
parties,
historians,
common
man,
anyone
who
has
seen
the
film
has
said
there
is
nothing
objectionable
in
it,”
she
said.

Has
acting
taken
a
back
seat
after
becoming
an
MP
last
June?

“Not
really
a
back
seat
but
yes
being
a
parliamentarian
is
also
a
very
demanding
job.
I
have
been
going
to
Parliament
almost
every
month.
There
has
been
a
little
bit
of
a
setback
in
terms
of
my
shootings.
I’m
not
able
to,
but
I
will
resume,”
she
said.

Emergency
also
stars
Anupam
Kher
as
Jayaprakash
Narayan,
Shreyas
Talpade
in
the
role
of
a
young
Atal
Bihari
Vajpayee,
Milind
Soman
as
Field
Marshal
Sam
Manekshaw,
Mahima
Choudhary
as
Pupul
Jayakar
and
the
late
Satish
Kaushik
in
the
role
of
Jagjivan
Ram.