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by Sharad Rai
The relationship between politics and cinema is as old as politics itself, and the connection between political films and controversy is just as long-standing. The ongoing discussions about Kangana Ranaut’s film Emergency and the cuts given by the censor board remind us of a time when a story about an emergency was so controversial that the entire film was destroyed. This film also depicted the emergency period of 1975, the very subject of Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency, which was released this week.
Kissa Kursi Ka
In 1974, filmmaker and MP Amrit Nahata made a film titled Kissa Kursi Ka, which was set to release in 1975. This period coincided with the time of the Emergency imposed by the then Prime Minister, the late Indira Gandhi, during which all opposition leaders were imprisoned. Every film released during that time had to be reviewed by the government before being allowed to reach cinemas. Kissa Kursi Ka was subjected to 51 cuts by the censor board in 1975, nearly rendering the entire film unrecognizable.
What was the film about?
The film, which starred actors like Raj Babbar, Shabana Azmi, Surekha Sikri, Rehana Sultan, Utpal Dutt, and Manohar Singh, never saw the light of day. It was overtly critical of the dictatorship. The film featured a scene depicting an election in which the political party’s symbol was a 'people's car.' This referred to the much-discussed Maruti car project of Sanjay Gandhi, Indira Gandhi’s younger son, who had been working on a plan to make a low-cost car, often referred to as the 'people’s car.' The film was seen as an attack on government policies and a critique of Sanjay Gandhi’s Maruti project.
The film’s print was not only heavily censored but was also seized and destroyed. It was reportedly sent to the Maruti manufacturing plant in Gurgaon, where it was burned. In 1977, when the Janata Party came to power, a case was filed in the Tis Hazari Court in Delhi over the burning of the film. Both Sanjay Gandhi and Vidyacharan Shukla were found guilty. Sanjay Gandhi’s bail was revoked, and he was sentenced to one year in Tihar Jail.
After the fall of Indira Gandhi’s government in 1977, Amrit Nahata, who had been a member of Congress, joined the Janata Party. In 1978, he re-released Kissa Kursi Ka, though the film featured different actors, including Raj Kiran and Shabana Azmi. Unfortunately, this version of the film did not perform well at the box office.
This incident remains a significant moment in the history of Indian cinema. The story of an authoritarian "Emergency" ended in such an extreme manner, with the film being destroyed during its time.
Many more films have since been made about the Emergency period, but neither Indira Gandhi, who imposed it, nor Sanjay Gandhi, who destroyed Kissa Kursi Ka, are around today. Kangana Ranaut, drawing inspiration from that very period of emergency, has made her own film titled Emergency. In this film, she plays the role of Indira Gandhi and also directs it. Like Amrit Nahata, she is now an MP, part of a ruling party, and like him, has faced the cuts imposed by the censor board. History seems to be repeating itself. Emergency released on January 17 and has already received positive reactions. It will be interesting to see how audiences respond to it.
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