Kangana Ranaut officially announces postponement of Emergency: 'Still waiting for certification'

Kangana Ranaut

National Award-winning actor and filmmaker Kangana Ranaut's highly anticipated film 'Emergency' has been officially postponed, as she announced on social media today. The political period drama, which promises to bring to life one of the most controversial chapters in Indian history, will not meet its originally scheduled release date.

'Emergency' delves into the tumultuous period of the Indian Emergency, imposed by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 1975 to 1977. This 22-month period is widely regarded as the darkest chapter in Indian democracy, marked by the suspension of civil liberties, press censorship, and political oppression.

The film, which marks Ranaut's second directorial, is yet to secure the crucial censor certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). This pending approval is one of the primary reasons for the delay.

Emergency officially postponed

Taking to her social media, Kangana wrote, "With a heavy heart, I announce that my directorial Emergency which was suppose to release today has been postponed and we are still waiting for the certification from the censor board. Thanks for your understanding and patience, new release date will be announced soon."

Written and directed by Kangana Ranaut, ‘Emergency' stars her and also features Anupam Kher, Mahima Chaudhary, Milind Soman, Shreyas Talpade, Vishak Nair, and the late Satish Kaushik in pivotal roles. Produced by Zee Studios, Manikarnika Films and Renu Pitti, the film's music is orchestrated by Sanchit Balhara and G V Prakash Kumar with screenplay and dialogues by Ritesh Shah. Its release date will be announced soon.

CBFC demands additional changes to Emergency

Ever since Emergency's trailer dropped online on August 14, there were growing objections and calls for ban on its release.While it was heard that the movie was cleared by the CBFC on August 29, the body apparently had a change of heart after it received a legal notice from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on August 30 seeking to prevent its release. The group claimed that the film may "incite communal tension", alleging that its trailer depicted "erroneous historical facts that not only misrepresent the Sikh community, but also promote hatred and social discord." Several Sikh groups too objected to the film.

A trade source says, "Kangana is deeply hurt by this unexpected turn of events. The CBFC had cleared Emergency on August 29. They even put out their list of suggested modifications - which included muting the word ‘saala' in a dialogue, modifying the term ‘Mr President' to ‘Rashtrapati-ji' and submitting factual information for certain sequences - on their website, and stated that the film was given a U/A certificate.

However, the makers didn't receive a copy of the certificate. In the past two-three days, the CBFC started suggesting additional changes. Their most critical instruction is that the film shouldn't show Indira Gandhi's assassination by her security guards