Emergency (Hindi)
Emergency is a 2025 Indian Hindi-language historical biographical drama film directed and co-produced by Kangana Ranaut, based on a screenplay by Ritesh Shah and story written by Ranaut. Based on the Indian Emergency, it stars Ranaut as former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi.
Principal photography commenced in July 2022 and ended in January 2023. It was scheduled for release on 6 September 2024, but it had been postponed due to pending certification of the Central Board of Film Certification. Later, it was cleared by CBFC and was released on 17 January 2025. The film attracted negative reviews upon its release.
EMERGENCY – Release
Initially announced to release in October–November 2023, the film was re-scheduled to release on 14 June 2024. It was again postponed due to the Lok Sabha elections, scheduled to be released on 6 September 2024.[26] On 30 August, Ranaut claimed the film was being denied a certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification, possibly due to external pressures. The Government of Telangana has also considered a ban on the film due to objections raised by the Sikh community members. On 17 October, Ranaut shared on social media that the film had been finally cleared by the CBFC, and the film was released on 17 January 2025. On 11 January 2025, the inaugural special screening of the film took place in Nagpur, India. The event was attended by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and hosted by Kangna Ranaut and Anupam Kher.
Due to issues between India and Bangladesh, as well as the film’s portrayal of the assassination of former PM of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the film was banned in Bangladesh. Simultaneously, the film also faced protests in Punjab, amid accusations of misrepresenting the Sikh community and getting facts wrong. Upon release, the film was not screened in most places in Punjab due to protests by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and other Sikh organizations.[35] Internationally, the film faced protests in the United Kingdom, with three cities in England pulling out the film from the screens as the protestors viewed it as an anti-Sikh Indian state propaganda for its depiction of ex-PM Indira Gandhi’s role in the Sikh genocide.