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Kangana Ranaut’s attempt at retelling one of the darkest chapters in Indian history and portraying one of the most formidable political personalities is at best, a misfire, and at worst, an outright farce.
When the first look of Emergency started circulating, there was palpable anticipation, regardless of where one stood on Kangana Ranaut’s political views. As an actor and artist, I have always respected Ranaut for her talent and giving us performances that are etched in cinematic history. But Emergency has left me speechless—and not in a good way! The film not only diminishes Ranaut's stature as an artist but also reduces the towering persona of Indira Gandhi to a one-note confused character. Rather than being a respectful portrayal, it feels like a disservice, both to cinema and to Gandhi herself.
The nearly two-and-a-half-hour film plays more like a fragmented, reel-like retelling of Indira’s political career, beginning with her evolution from the Gungi Gudiya (silent doll) to a leader synonymous with India, and ultimately to her assassination, which is framed as a liberation of India from her rule. The film portrays that the seeds of satta (power) have been planted in her during childhood, leading to her unyielding grip on leadership even at the expense of sidelining her own father, Jawaharlal Nehru, who in this narrative, appears less burdened by the responsibilities of a nation and more weakened by his own failures.
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To its credit, the film might have succeeded if it had consistently maintained this tone, regardless of how one-sided it seemed. Instead, Emergency suffers from a dilemma of identity. At times, it devolves into a musical, with historical figures like Sam Manekshaw or Atal Bihari Vajpayee breaking into song, while at other moments, it becomes a revenge drama that paints Sanjay Gandhi as the alpha-coded nation’s ultimate villain, whose death is celebrated by the masses. Most frustratingly, it becomes unkind to Indira, its supposed protagonist, as it conveniently forgets to build her. Rather it constructs her in a way where everyone else shines on her behalf. For instance, every other major figure gets a more memorable introduction than her and the camera lingers so closely on her that there is no breathing room, even for her despite her long nose!
This approach fundamentally undermines a woman who was known for her strong-headed decision-making, even when those decisions were condemned in history. Instead of depicting Indira as the complex, bold leader who had the ability of call out Nixon's sexism or France's hypocrisy, the film transforms her into a timid, frightened little girl who seems more afraid of the people around her than ready to stand alongside them. Ranaut is a brilliant actor, but here, it’s unclear whether her personal bias is bleeding into the role. Her portrayal, with trembling lips and a shrill voice, makes Indira seem more like a fearful, fragile character than the formidable leader whose occasional anxiety got the best of her, hence reducing the powerful figure to a stiff, almost farcical impersonation.
Despite it all, what is most baffling about the film is that, for all its effort to appear as an exploration of Congress rule under Indira, it instead functions as a thinly veiled ode to the rise of Bharatiya Janata Party aka BJP. Yet, it’s so poorly constructed that it fails to even deliver as a piece of political propaganda. Viewers critical of the film won’t find it outrageous enough to call it camp or satire, while those in favor won’t be able to defend it as cinematic brilliance lost on everyone. If anything stands out, it’s the costume and makeup, which deserve recognition for their authenticity in recreating the era and its prominent figures.
Ultimately, Emergency is a strange case of cinematic carelessness. At a time when nuanced human portrayals of historical figures are being crafted, this film serves more as a parody of the actual horrors of the Emergency—bulldozers demolishing homes, the forced beautification of the nation, the silencing of dissent. So why pay to watch this?
Emergency is currently running at a theatre near you!
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