Emergency is not just a political drama, it's a tribute from
a terrific woman to another woman of substance, what a brilliant and nuanced
take on Indian politics!
Some hard-headed bullies may find ways to demean such a
masterpiece, banning it, but that is only a loss to Indian cinema and a well-crafted
piece of history, which is shown to reality, which you can't change.
The film is a tale of a courageous politically ambitious
woman who had the guts to leave no stone unturned for the sake of her country,
but the political environment made her learn that things were not that easy. Starring Kangana Ranaut as the protagonist Indira Gandhi, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Vishak
Nair, Mahima Chaudhry, Milind Soman, Satish Kaushik.

Indira Gandhi was a compassionate leader who valued humanity
and stood for it and that's what the film portrays, as the people of Bangladesh
and Assam called her Indira Ma. She not only gave refuge to thousands but also
created a global political framework to support India during a crisis. She's
shown as a great diplomat in the scene with the US President who mocks Indian
women wearing a saree and India being a weak nation, boasting the US war
strengths, and preparedness. At the same time, Indira sets him right drawing
his attention to the Vietnamese who dared to beat the US Army with its
courage, so could India.
The film portrays Gandhi’s failure in decision-making during
the Shimla Agreement which was not in the country's favour and created ripples
of aggression by the opposition. But at the same time, the film also gives you
the answers to why a compassionate leader became an authoritative dictator
demonstrating powerplay. It was not by choice but as a result of the bitterness
induced by the opposition, while they manipulated the media to tarnish her
image. They created complete chaos bringing the system to a standstill with
strikes while they united to throw her out of power. The film then shows
the iron-willed leader, who decides to suspend all constitutional liberties and
take the situation under her control.

Kangana Ranaut excels in the art of imbibing the nuances of
the character, while she portrays Indira Gandhi as her closest replica to date.
From her emotional trauma, body language, anxieties, biting her lips in anxious
moments to holding her tears from flowing. Her outbursts of anger and loud
cries at the time of people rejoicing at Sanjay Gandhi's death, it was like
watching Indira Gandhi alive and not the actor. Kangana portrays well the
dilemmas and contradictions of Indira Gandhi's leadership persona induced with
power and depth yet with a distinct vulnerability, which sometimes made her
distant and sometimes relatable. She is torn between ambition and the cost of
her decisions which impacted both her personal and professional lives.
Kangana has proved her excellence not only as an actor but
as a director in bringing out the historic event of Emergency most truthfully
without tampering with the facts. The film is not just to entertain but also to
provoke us to reflect on the challenges of governance and the personal costs of
political leadership. Kangana has made sure to touch upon controversial aspects
of Gandhi's Rule like Operation Blue Star and Forced Sterilization
depicting the social tension in the then era, which felt authentic on screen.

While at one point you feel Kangana has put a lot of
research into studying Indira Gandhi well, the rest of the characters in terms of
casting are not accurate. You hardly find resemblances in the characters played
by Pandit Nehru, Atal Bihari Bajpai and Sanjay Gandhi, who could have made a bigger
impact in the film, although their acting and personification were accurate.
Vishak Nair portrays well Sanjay Gandhi as a powerful
character, a brat with a youthful zeal who possessed a conflicting image in the
political circuits. While the mother-son power struggles touched upon the
emotional core of the film, portraying the loss of relationships due to
ambition. Anupam Kher plays well Jayaprakash Narayan, the tireless
opposition leader who believed in morals and provided Indira with the much-needed
counterpoints to her dictatorship creating tension in the political
environment. Milind Soman plays the Former Chief of Army Sam Manekshaw, who looks
stunning in the character of a brave heart who believes in not stepping back
once sent to the battlefield, while he accomplishes guarding India with pride,
reaching the borders before time and combatting till victory.
Emergency is an educative film, especially for the
generations who haven't lived that era, and needs to be watched with family to
educate our gen- next about the real diva of Indian politics Indira Gandhi, who
became nation personified resonating with a dialogue, 'India is Indira and Indira is India', in the then era.
Critics Rating
4 / 5