Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency gets CBFC certification; release date announcement to come soon

In Emergency, Kangana Ranaut portrays former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and the film centers on the 21-month emergency period imposed by Indira from 1975 to 1977. Reports indicate that Kangana, who also serves as the film’s producer and director, accepted some cuts suggested by the censor board. Previously, the actor-politician had alleged that the film’s clearance was “stopped” due to threats made against CBFC members.

She wrote on X, “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.”

Emergency has stirred controversy, particularly regarding its portrayal of Sikhs. The trailer provoked strong reactions from Sikh organizations, including the Akal Takht and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), who raised concerns over the content.

Also starring Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman and late actor Satish Kaushik, Emergency was initially scheduled for a November 2023 release. It was later postponed to June 2024 and then to September 6. Now that the film has received CBFC clearance, Kangana has promised to announce the new release date soon.