This is an Emergency!
Controversy’S favourite child Kangana Ranaut is back with what she does best — create a controversy! In the news for the past few days, Kangana's recent interview, where she spoke critically of farmers' protest, did not go down well with the general public. While there's a nationwide furore against the actress, her upcoming film Emergency is also bearing the brunt.
Kangana, who plays Indira Gandhi in Emergency, which is about a dark chapter in Indian history, is literally facing one-of-a-kind personal emergency. The BJP has distanced itself from Kangana's provocative comments on farmers, her
film's release on September 6 is under the threat of a ban, and she has been receiving death threats too!
A spokesperson of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee believes that the subjects of history need to be handled with responsibility to not incite further division.
Kangana bravely retaliated with a tweet seeking protection from @DGPMaharashtra, @himachalpolice and @PunjabPoliceInd, but the same can't be said about her film, as the Sikh community across the globe is seeking a blanket ban on the film.
In the trailer, many other historical moments have also been touched upon, like the Shimla Agreement, the rise of the Khalistan movement and JP Andolan. Several organisations, including the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and Akal Takht Amritsar, the highest political and governing body of the Sikhs, have demanded a ban on the film’s release, citing it spreads an ‘anti-Sikh’ and ‘separatists-agenda’ about those who practice Sikhism. A spokesperson of the SGPC, on condition of anonymity, shares, “We have served a legal notice to Kangana Ranaut, and the producer and production house of Emergency. It's a matter of concern and as representatives of our community we had to take it up. In the 2:54-minute trailer, for about half-a-minute Sikhs are represented in bad light. The subjects of history need to be handled with responsibility to not incite further division.”
To express their strong objection to the film, separate letters were shot off to the Government of India's Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Central Board of Film Certification's Chairperson Shri Prasoon Joshi. The SGPC is seeking the film’s script before the release and also wants removal of objectionable scenes.
“Our call for a ban wasn't a follow up of Kangana Ranaut's recent interview, but came soon after the trailer release of Emergency. Time and again, we have noticed that not just her, but many are trying to portray the Sikh community in bad light. We have called upon a worldwide ban as a ban only in Punjab won’t solve the purpose. Because the movie will be released everywhere else, and then videos and clips will be shared on the internet,” says Paramjit Singh Mand, working president, Dal Khalsa.
He also believes that Emergency is not the first film nor it will be the last to put the Sikhs in a certain ‘objectionable’ bracket. So, to stop that there should be a representative committee that works jointly with the Censor Board. He says, “If Akal Takht, the most important
Sikh Council, calls for a ban or boycott, all the subsidiary bodies have the same opinion.”
Meanwhile, Kangana has been receiving death threats. A video of a group of men threatening her on X has also gone viral. In the video there are six men, who are sitting in a circle in a room, and two of them are dressed like Nihang Sikhs. One of the men says that if the movie is released, the Sikh community will condemn it. ‘Your movie will be received with chappals,’ he says. They also made a comment on the recent slapgate incident, saying, ‘Laafa toh aapne kha liya.’
Australia's Sikh community also wrote to Village Cinemas, an Australian-based multinational film exhibition brand, to ban Emergency in their country. The statement reads, “We are deeply concerned about screening this propaganda movie in your theatres, as it is disrespectful towards the Sikhs.”
