Emergency

Emergency traces the political life of Indira Gandhi, from her ascent within the Congress party to her tenure as Prime Minister. It moves through her decisive role in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War and the creation of Bangladesh, before turning to the Emergency of 1975–77, a period marked by suspended civil liberties and press censorship. The film also depicts the influence of her son Sanjay Gandhi, the eventual lifting of the Emergency, her political comeback, and her assassination in 1984, presenting a sweep of one of the most debated chapters in modern Indian history.

Emergency was directed by Kangana Ranaut from a screenplay by Ritesh Shah, and produced by Ranaut and Renu Pitti under the Manikarnika Films and Zee Studios banners. The film was photographed by French cinematographer Tetsuo Nagata and edited by Rameshwar S. Bhagat, with a runtime of about 146 minutes. Its release followed a period of certification and pre-release scrutiny given its politically charged subject.

The songs were composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, with the background score by Sanchit and Ankit Balhara, supporting the film’s period-drama tone across its decades-spanning narrative.

Emergency released on 17 January 2025 and grossed around ₹21.75 crore. Reviews were mixed to negative: while some noted Kangana Ranaut’s commitment to the central role, many critics found the film overly dramatised and uneven in its storytelling. It underperformed at the box office relative to its budget.