Actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut recently announced that her highly anticipated film Emergency will be released on January 17, 2025. This update comes nearly a month after the film received its censor certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Emergency, which is written, directed, and co-produced by Ranaut, was originally set for a September 6 release but faced multiple delays before its certification was approved. Kangana Ranaut, who stars as former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the film, shared the release date on Instagram. The caption read: “17th January 2025 – The epic saga of the nation’s most powerful woman and the moment that altered India’s destiny. #Emergency – Unveils Only in cinemas on 17.01.2025!”
Last month, Emergency was granted a censor certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). In an exclusive interview with NDTV’s Hardika Gupta, Shreyas Talpade, who portrays Atal Bihari Bajpayee in the film, spoke about receiving the censor certificate after numerous delays. He said, “As an actor, it is obviously upsetting when your film gets delayed after receiving approval from the censor board, announcing a release date, and starting promotions. The people were looking forward to the film, we were looking forward to the film releasing, and the audience watching it, but it got delayed due to certain reasons. Most of the time, those reasons are not in our control, and things are not in our control. Having said that, now that we got the final approval from CBFC, we are extremely happy. As an actor, I’m happy that we got the green signal to release our film.”
ICYDK, the film has been embroiled in controversy as it chronicles the story of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the Emergency period in India and her assassination by her bodyguards. Last month, the Bombay High Court directed the Censor Board to consider any objections raised by Sikh bodies, groups, or individuals regarding the film’s September 6 release. The CBFC’s examining committee approved the film with a ‘UA’ certification, conditional upon the filmmakers making three cuts and providing factual sources for certain controversial historical statements. Among the suggested edits, the committee recommended that the filmmakers delete or replace specific visuals in a scene depicting Pakistani soldiers attacking Bangladeshi refugees.
Emergency is set against the backdrop of India’s Emergency period from 1975 to 1977, a time when civil rights and freedom of the press were severely restricted. The film also stars Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahim Chaudhary, Anupam Kher, late actor Satish Kaushik, Vishak Nair and others, with a screenplay by Ritesh Shah.