The row over clearance of BJP MP and actress Kangana Ranaut’s film `Emergency’ by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has settled finally, with the examining committee having cleared it for a ‘UA’ certification. However, it cleared on the condition that the filmmakers make three cuts and provide factual sources for controversial historical statements.
The latter include a quote attributed to US President Richard Nixon on his disparaging references to Indian women and another to Winston Churchill on Indians “breeding like rabbits. A ‘UA’ certification means the film is suitable for viewing with parental guidance.
The producers submitted the film for certification on July 8 and they intended to release it on September 6. However, almost three weeks before Sikh Organisations, including Akal Takht and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee started demanding a ban on the film, a regional officer of the CBFC wrote to Manikarnika Films Pvt. Ltd, on August 8 listing 10 “excisions/insertions/modifications” required by the examining committee for ‘UA’ certification.
Among the cuts, the committee suggested that the filmmakers delete or replace certain visuals in a scene depicting Pakistani soldiers attacking Bangladeshi refugees — specifically, one of a soldier smashing an infant’s head and another of three women being beheaded.
The filmmakers were also asked to replace an expletive shouted by someone in a crowd in response to the death of a leader in the film, besides a change to the surname of a family mentioned in a line.
The filmmakers responded on August 14, the same day the film’s trailer was released. It is learned that the producers agreed to all but one of the cuts and provided sources for the information requested by the Board.
The film’s trailer, which depicted Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the leader of the separatist Khalistan movement, promising to bring votes for Indira Gandhi’s party in exchange for a separate Sikh state, had sparked sharp reactions. Several Sikh organisations wrote to the CBFC and even approached the courts to halt the film’s release, citing concerns over its portrayal of Sikhs.
On August 29, the filmmakers received an email stating that the movie had been granted certification; however, no certificate was issued, prompting them to approach the Bombay High Court, which directed the Board to make a decision on certification by September 18. On Friday, Ranaut took to X to announce that the release of her film, originally slated for September 6, has been delayed pending CBFC certification.