Kangana Ranaut’s 'Emergency' Receives Conditional Clearance from CBFC After High Court Intervention

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on Thursday told the Bombay High Court that Kangana Ranaut's film 'Emergency' can be issued a certificate after removing some scenes from it as recommended by the Board's Review Committee. The film was earlier scheduled to be released on September 6, but its release was postponed due to non-issuance of a certificate for the film's release. Kangana Ranaut has directed the film and is also its co-producer. She has played the role of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the film. Kangana has accused the CBFC of not issuing a certificate to delay the release.

This biopic-based film came into controversy when some Sikh organizations including Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) objected to it and accused it of misrepresenting the community and distorting historical facts. Justice B P Colabawalla and Justice Firdosh Pooniwala reprimanded the CBFC last week for not being able to decide on issuing a certificate to the film.

The High Court had said that the Censor Board cannot sit quietly like this and it will have to take its decision in some way or the other otherwise it would be tantamount to curbing freedom of expression. The court directed the CBFC to take its decision by September 25. The film's co-producer Zee Entertainment Enterprises had filed a petition in the High Court requesting the CBFC to direct the CBFC to issue a certificate for the Kangana Ranaut-directed film 'Emergency'.

The bench on Thursday asked the CBFC if there was "good news" about the film. Advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, appearing for the CBFC, told the court that the board's review committee has taken its decision. He said, "The committee has suggested removing some scenes before issuing the certificate. After this, the film can be released." Senior advocate Sharan Jagtiani, appearing for Zee Entertainment, requested time to decide whether the scenes should be removed from the film or not. The bench then fixed September 30 as the next hearing in the case. In its petition, Zee Entertainment claimed that the CBFC has already given a certificate to the film but it is not releasing it.

Last week, Zee Entertainment alleged that the certificate was not being issued to the film due to political reasons and because of the upcoming elections in Haryana. The bench expressed surprise and asked why the ruling party would act against Ranaut, who herself is an MP from the BJP.