CHANDIGARH: The cinemas and multiplexes across Punjab on Friday were forced to cancel the screening of Kangana Ranaut-starrer Emergency following protests by various Sikh organization and farmers' bodies.
Kangana plays the role of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the film. The film’s release was earlier delayed after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) sought several cuts in the movie after Sikh groups raised concerns over the portrayal of the community.
On Thursday, SGPC had demanded that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ban its screening in Punjab. In a letter to Mann, SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami said the movie was a “calculated attempt to distort history and harm Sikh sentiments” and warned that releasing it could provoke outrage within the Sikh community.
The protesters claimed that the movie hurt the sentiments of the Sikhs and provoked outrage in the community.
The members of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) protested against the movie outside the cinemas in Amritsar.
Also, there were protests outside cinemas in Bathinda, Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur.
The members of one of the factions of farmer union BKU gathered outside Dhillon Plaza and Cosmo Plaza in Zirakpur in SAS Nagar district near Chandigarh and protested alleging that Kangana Ranaut used vulgar language against them during the ongoing farmers' protest and in the movie, facts have been twisted to defame the Sikh community.
A member of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) said that the history of the Sikh religion and the incidents of 1984 were depicted in the movie in a distorted manner. He demanded the movie to be banned.
Meanwhile, Kangana reacted to the protests saying it as a “complete harassment of art and the artist.” She also slammed the “propaganda” to tarnish her image.
In a message posted on platform X, Kangana Ranaut wrote, "This is complete harassment of art and the artist, from Punjab many cities are reporting that these people are not allowing Emergency to be screened. I have utmost respect for all religions and after studying and growing up in Chandigarh I have closely observed and followed sikh religion. This is complete lie and propaganda to tarnish my image and harm my film.’’
Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said that governments and censor boards must keep an eye on films like Emergency as such films show scripted stories, which are not true and the facts are twisted otherwise, they would not be successful if there was no masala.
However, theaters in the Union Territory of Chandigarh screened the movie.
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