Ban on Dev Anand and Kishore Kumar, Manoj Kumar taking the government to court: How Bollywood faced Indira Gandhi’s Emergency

The ban on Aandhi was just the beginning as for the next 21 months, the Hindi film industry was expected to dance to the tunes of the government. If they refused, or showed any kind of unwillingness to participate, there were consequences and many artistes of great reputation including Kishore Kumar and Dev Anand, faced the brunt for their opposition. This was also the era of Salim-Javed and while in hindsight, their character of the ‘angry young man’ is seen as the voice of anti-establishment, their most popular work Sholay also faced some resistance from the censor board for being too violent. As per actor-filmmaker Manoj Kumar, he was the one who persuaded the then I&B minister VC Shukla to pass the film.

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Amjad Khan in Sholay, which faced some troubles with the censor board. (Photo: Express Archives)

In later years, Shukla was seen as an authoritarian. Films submitted for censor certificate lay in limbo for months and the shortage of raw stock made it difficult for producers to continue their work. As per an India Today report of 1977, after Emergency was lifted, producer GP Sippy said that for the last 21 months, the film industry had lived “under the atmosphere of threat.” Rules of censorship about showing violence on screen changed every few weeks, the broadcast rules for All India Radio and Doordarshan were just as inconsistent but what did not change was the insistence from the government that artistes with a strong voice act as their spokespeople.

Kishore Kumar banned for not bowing down to Sanjay Gandhi

It is rather well known that Kishore Kumar’s songs were banned from All India Radio during the Emergency era as he refused to bow down to the powers that be. But what exactly happened that led to this ban? The ban first came into effect in January 1976, six months after the Emergency began. Indira’s son Sanjay Gandhi, who was all-powerful in the government, had come up with the idea of a radio programme called ‘Geeton Bhari Shaam’ to promote the government’s schemes. Kishore Kumar was contacted to participate in this charade but the temperamental singer refused. In the biography titled ‘Kishore Kumar: The Ultimate Biography’ by writers Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Parthiv Dhar, it is suggested that at this time, Kishore put his foot down and was ready to sing on the streets with a harmonium, but was not willing to play ball with the administration. He is quoted saying, “I did what I thought best. Singing at private functions is definitely not an anathema. With genuine love and respect, I am only too eager to bend. However, if someone decides to rest his foot on my head, he will not have the good fortune to witness the best of my courtesies.”

Kishore Kumar refused to bow down to government’s demands during Emergency. (Photo: Express Archives)

The ban, however, lasted for only six months and ended in June 1976 in a rather poetic way as AIR played his song “Dukhi Mann Mere.” But, the terms of their compromise, however, are rather hazy. It is suggested the VC Shukla and Kishore Kumar’s families had connections through Khandwa, the singer’s birthplace,  and it was via this channel that an olive branch was extended. But, an India Today report of 1977 suggests that Kishore had, in fact, been made to apologise. His older brother Ashok Kumar had tried to mend the situation by meeting Indira Gandhi but this had not helped their cause. To put matters to rest, and not generate more buzz out of Kishore’s rebellion, a compromise was reached.

Dev Anand ‘vehemently’ opposing propaganda, getting banned

Co-incidentally, the song that lifted the ban on Kishore, “Dukhi Man Mere”, was filmed on actor Dev Anand for his 1956 film Funtoosh. And Dev too, faced a similar ban for not abiding by the government’s diktats during the Emergency era. In his book, Romancing with Life, Dev Anand said that he found himself, along with Dilip Kumar, at a government organised event in Delhi and felt that this activity was being conducted to boost the image of Sanjay Gandhi, who was being projected as ‘desh ka neta’ at the time. The presence of film industry stalwarts was to make sure that they spoke highly about the proceedings. Dev, however, refused to do so.

Dev recalled that while “Dilip also hesitated to go to the TV centre to participate in any propaganda in favour of the Emergency, I vehemently and vociferously opposed the suggestion.” The result was something he had already expected. “Not only were all my pictures banned from being screened on television, but also any mention of or reference to my name on an official media was forbidden,” he wrote. All of Dev’s releases were banned for the time being and as he spoke to VC Shukla about the same, he was told to speak in favour of the government in power, or he would have to face the repercussions.

Dev Anand’s opposition led to a ban on his movies. (Photo: Express Archives)

Along with Dev, his brothers Chetan and Vijay also opposed Emergency, termed as the darkest time in post-independence India. Vijay Anand told India Today that the film industry would have “collapsed” if VC Shukla got to have his way for a few more months as the movie producers were tired of “making and re-making their films” just to they could please those on top. He also said that films that showed Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh as heroes were banned during this time for fear that this could inspire people to stand against the authoritarian regime.

Soon after the Emergency was over, Dev lent his support to Janata Party but after that government failed to keep up their promises, Dev came up with the idea of starting his own political party, National Party. However, the party was disbanded a few months later.

Manoj ‘Bharat’ Kumar asked to make a pro-Indira Gandhi film, ends up suing the government

Manoj Kumar, popularly known as Bharat Kumar, had made a career out of making nationalistic films. Perhaps, that is why, he had the image of being the person who would become the government’s mouthpiece when they needed him the most. Manoj had famously made the 1967 film Upkar after the then PM Lal Bahadur Shastri requested him to do so. During the Emergency era, Manoj was in talks with PM Indira Gandhi for a film on Emergency. As per the actor’s admission to Lehren, he got Salim-Javed involved in the scriptwriting process. But, the film was shelved.

Manoj Kumar sued the government after he faced some losses for his theatrical releases. (Photo: Express Archives)

Years later, in a chat with Hindustan Times, Manoj said that the film was called Naya Bharat and he had discussed the script of the film with Indira and her son Sanjay. “At first, they loved the script. She even agreed to make a special appearance in it. But a few months later, they said that she could only give her voice in the film. The script had to be changed and I was not okay with that. So I cancelled everything and the film was eventually shelved,” he said. Manoj did not elaborate on what changes were expected from him that led him to abandon the project.

Manoj’s problems with the government  started after this as he found himself in a position where he had to sue the government. In the same chat, he claimed that for a short while during the 21-month period, films could be telecast on television just two weeks after their theatrical release, which affected the business of a few of his films. Manoj said that the re-release of his 1972 film Shor suffered as the government decided to broadcast it on television shortly before the theatrical re-release, and his 1976 film Dus Numbri suffered similar consequences. Due to this, he faced some heavy losses. “We decided to take this to court where I eventually won the case,” he said.

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From having the ear of the I&B Minister where he believed that he had enough say to get Sholay cleared by the censor board, to standing against the government in a court of law, Manoj went through many ups and downs in this 21-month period.

Since the press was heavily censored during the 21-month period, the goings-on within the film industry weren’t always fully reported. Many filmmakers who had a financial stake chose to look the other way as the government dictated terms. But, there were a few who made sure that they stuck their ground and even if they faced some opposition at the time, they certainly emerged as rebels.