When Kangana released her first look As Indira Gandhi in 2022, it was one of the warning moments that another film is coming that can potentially question (or “answer”) the existing understanding (or misunderstanding) of contemporary history. The fears were greater considering that MLA Kangan Ranaut was a unabashed mouthpiece for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The fears were well founded as Kangana was making a historical drama about the darkest moments of Indian democracy – the Emergency declared by Indira Gandhi in 1975, which the current regime never misses an opportunity to criticize for all the right reasons.
Now finally, after so many postponements due to complaints from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which accused Kangana of misrepresenting Sikhs in the events surrounding Operation Blue Star, ‘Emergency’ was finally released in theaters this Friday.
The Nehrus: So weak and meek
“Emergency,” written and directed by Kangana Ranaut, begins in 1929 when Indira Gandhi was just 12 years old. We get a glimpse of the feud between Nehru’s sister Vijayalakshmi and Indira’s mother. Vijayalakshmi calls Indu “ugly and stupid,” which haunts her to her deathbed, a fact documented by her biographers. The story jumps to the Indo-Chinese War in 1962, right after she learns from the womb of her grandfather Motilal Nehru what Satta (power) is and the rule of Indraprastha (the mythical name of modern-day New Delhi).
Source: IMDb
Nehru is portrayed as weak and meek starting with the film showing that when Indira Gandhi was ready to give up Assam, she saved Assam by giving the affirmation chosen by the media. The same quality of weakness and gentleness is reflected in Indira Gandhi’s aura throughout the film, as if Kangana had signed up as a storyteller – rather than a politician – to make her character more likeable – making her less villainous and more makes a victim.
Indira: Villain or Victim?
The 21-month-long imposition of emergency that India never needed, apart from Indira’s fears of losing her power as prime minister after the Allahabad High Court convicted her of electoral malpractice for using government vehicles and employees for election campaigns. She was banned from taking part in elections for six years. It may mean the end for Indira – political suicide, in fact. The same phrase, political suicide, is uttered by Sanjay Gandhi (played fantastically by Vishak Nair) and refers to events after the lifting of the Emergency to announce the general elections. Talk about irony!
Source: IMDb
The unforgivable atrocities of Indira Gandhi’s regime in the nearly two-year state of emergency imposed across the nation include “press censorship, forced sterilization of over six million citizens, large-scale destruction of slums, mass arrests of political leaders and an…” “Authoritarian regime, that exercised excessive control over the executive and judicial branches of the country,” recalls KS Komireddy in Malevolent Republic: A Brief History of the New India. The infamous spoiled rich brat Sanjay Gandhi is responsible for the crimes of the Emergency often accused. In an emergency, Sanjay Gandhi takes her mother’s prime ministerial chair as she feels disoriented and ill.
Sanjay Gandhi calls out all unconstitutional attempts – including forced sterilizations and the demolition of the poor’s houses – by becoming the second most important person in the Cabinet after the Prime Minister. Kangana Ranaut’s Indira Gandhi is reduced to the Gungi Gudiya (a mute doll) that she probably was. But we don’t get to see anything deeper than the overused format of biographies, covering key events from 1945, 1964, 1966, 1975, 1977 and again in 1980 – the year she returned as prime minister – through a time-limited overview link a spectacular majority. Taking the political figure as Indira and portraying her as nothing more than an impressive, boring doll is just a simple reinterpretation of the popular understanding of contemporary history.
Emergency: A Confused Semi-Hagiography
Emergency lifted. Elections held. Jayaprakash Narayan (played by Anupam Kher, another ardent BJP supporter) becomes Prime Minister, albeit temporarily. After going without public office, including her historic loss to Rae Bareilly, Indira is thinking about living a life in the public eye again. When the forest officials do not allow her convoy of vehicles, she climbs onto an elephant and travels into deep forests without food for two days. She splits the small piece of jaggery, gives it to the child and says, “When your stomach is full, my stomach is also full.” She feels devastated after seeing the Gareebi (poverty) and the Gungi Gudiya (a mute doll ) has seen. She finds her voice again: “Gareebi Hatao, Desh Bachao” (Eliminate poverty, save the country)
If the above scenes were written by anyone other than Kangana, they can easily be classified as hagiographic. Hagiographies are all-encompassing political biographies. But Emergency is written and directed by Kangana and co-written with Ritesh Shah and Jayant Sinha, adapted from Coomi Kapoor’s Emergency and Pupul Jayakar’s Indira Gandhi, A Biography. This does not mean that Kangana, whose political affiliation is at odds with the Congress, should not idolize Indira. But when it comes to making a political historical film, you should have a clear idea of what you want to spread and promote.
On the one hand, Kangana treated Indira Gandhi’s character as a victim in her own right, but not as the nation’s only criminal. On the other hand, Kangana also pays the hagiographic tributaries to Jaya Prakash Narayan, Atal Bihari Vajpaaye (Shreyas Talpade) and even Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw (Milind Soman). Indira is shown to seek advice from Vajpaaye during the crisis surrounding Bangladesh’s accession to Pakistan. She praises him and says he has proven that he is “not only a great statesman but also a true patriot” and Kangana claims that he should become Prime Minister one day.
Indira is allowed to go; India must move on
After the 1975-77 Emergency, Operation Blue Star was her most controversial political failure, which cost her her life, and the “sin” of the attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab still haunts her. The recent protests by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) against a ban on this film in Punjab are an example of this political force. (Kangana Ranaut also calls the protesting farmers terrorists, which is also a minor reason.) Indira decided to eradicate Sikh fighters from the temple and prevent the creation of a new Pakistan. But she objected to no one removing Sikh people from her security team. The result was 33 shots that ripped through her body.
Source: IMDb
However, the text is one-sided; Kangana delivered an outstanding performance. Kangana, as Indira, is a shy, unconfident, squealing rebellious woman. It registers very quickly; She described the role very practically. But here too, the narrow-minded writing of “Emergency” actually causes her acting to falter after a certain point, turning her into a caricature of a tentatively trembling cheek region. However, Kangana fits well with the elderly Indira Gandhi again. Thanks to the costumes designed by Sheetal Sharma.
KanganaThe lack of historical vision is clearly visible throughout the film. As Indira – who was once “India is Indira and Indira is India” – is shot, we hear the patriotic Indira speaking on the radio: “Indira can go, India must carry on.” Trying to create nuance, she caused confusion. In an attempt to create a truthful biopic, she created a one-sided hagiography and semi-humanized Indira Gandhi, serving both sides of Indira Gandhi and the current BJP, but criticizing only a few, particularly Sanjay Gandhi, who portrayed Indira as nothing more than one impressive, squeaky, boring doll.
Emergency is in theaters now and will be streamed on Zee5 after its theatrical release.