Emergency Kangana Ranaut’s latest film does indeed make an ‘Emergency’ landing on the OTT platform Netflix. The film in addition to focusing on Emergency in India –
tries to skim through her life from childhood to her death.
Review by Rajeshwari Kalyanam
Charting former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi’s entire life – That’s a lot, and hence for most part the film looks like a montage of events weaved not just to bring to life what is surely a dark period in history of India – Emergency. But the film also moves forward with an agenda that begins with showing the first prime minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru as a weak man and the young politician and his daughter Indira vowing to never become like him.
The film Emergency begins with showing the positive and negative sides of the first woman Prime Minister almost letting us believe that this is one biography that will not have a one-sided narrative. The sparks of neutrality continue to shine in parts, like in the scene when Indira Gandhi shows resolve in orchestrating the Bangladesh war, and especially when she travels on an elephant to reach a village in Bihar, Belchi that is said to have turned the tables for her to restore power.
However, it soon becomes clear that cinematic liberty that was often taken was done so to suit the desired narrative and current political discourse.
So, if Indira is not so bad after all or rather becomes a changed person and announces the end of Emergency – then who is the villain of the story. It is Sanjay Gandhi – not that he has left behind less reasons. His beautification of New Delhi by demolishing slums that led to several losing their homes and some lives even, the forced Family planning operations all have a place in the film.
Kangana Ranaut who has never ceased to be a good actor gets her act almost right, if only she did not over do that jaw twitch and the odd tilt of the head that is distracting to say the least. But she is also the director – so there’s only her to blame for this.
Music by GV Prakash Kumar is good through out. Kangana’s prosthetics are top class with Oscar winning David Malinowski recreating the Indira look. Rest of the cast too – Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Mahima Chowdhary add their might as and when needed.
As mentioned earlier an entire lifetime of a legendary political leader is too much to be confined to less than two and half hours – Kangana with the help of Vijayendra Prasad tried to do this not so successfully.
Amongst the complaints – one foremost one is the amateurish way Kangana has reduced one of most important voices of women’s rights from India – Vijayalakshmi Pandit to a clichéd version of high society lady spending time with her equally well-dressed lady friends in their finery as she indulges in a very evil sister-in-law kind of a behaviour towards Indira’s mother Kamala Nehru. Wonder what is the source to the information that inspired this woman against woman narrative.
That said the film takes us through an important portion of India’s political history and hence it is engaging on one level and surely warrants a watch.
Emergency Review:
Rating: 3/5
Also Read: Court vs. a Nobody Review
