Certification for my film Emergency has been stopped, censors got threats: Kangana Ranaut

Posting a video on her X handle, Kangana said, “There are rumours doing the rounds that our film, Emergency, has been granted Censor certificate. This is not true. In fact, our film had been cleared but certification has been stopped because many threats were coming in. Death threats. The Censor Board members are getting threats. We are under pressure not to show the assassination of Indira Gandhi, not to show Bhindranwale, not to show the Punjab riots. I don’t know what will be left to show then… This is unbelievable for me and I am very sorry for the state of things in this country.”

This comes a day after Kangana, facing heat from within the BJP over her comments about the 2020-21 farmers’ protests, met party president and Union Health Minister J P Nadda at his residence in Delhi. Sources in the party said the meeting lasted nearing 30 minutes, and she was told to be careful about what she says in public while promoting her upcoming film.

The film’s trailer, released a few weeks ago, showed Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, leader of the separatist Khalistan movement, promising to bring votes for Indira’s political party in lieu of a separate Sikh state. The Delhi unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal had sent a legal notice to the CBFC, asking it to stop the release of the film, citing concerns over its portrayal of Sikhs.

The film’s trailer also evoked a sharp reaction from Sikh organisations, including the Akal Takht and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).

SGPC officials said they had sent letters to the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the CBFC chairperson, demanding a ban on the film. Parts of Punjab had also witnessed stray protests.

On Tuesday, the SGPC too had issued a legal notice to the producers of the film for allegedly “misrepresenting the character and history of the Sikh” community. Additionally, a PIL was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking a ban on its release.

SGPC secretary Partap Singh said the notice was issued under the direction of SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami. He said the trailer contained numerous anti-Sikh scenes that deeply hurt the community’s sentiments. “An attempt has been made to show Sikhs as terrorists and separatists, which is unacceptable and far from the truth,” he said.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal had urged that the film be reviewed by the SGPC before its release, expressing concerns that the Sikh community should not be defamed.

Jagmohan Singh Raju, the BJP’s Punjab general secretary and advisor to the National Commission for Minorities, had also written to the Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, requesting that the CBFC exercise “double diligence” before certifying the movie.

The film’s story is written by the actor, and its screenplay by Ritesh Shah. It also stars Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Mahima Choudhary and the late Satish Kaushik.