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Here is why SGPC is furious with Kangana Ranaut and halted her film Emergency’s screening

Police step up security outside multiplexes and malls
SGPC holds a protest over release of Kangana Ranaut's film 'Emergency' in Amritsar on Friday. Tribune photo: Vishal Kumar
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The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and other Sikh organisations today staged a protest outside the cinema halls in Amritsar and other districts where actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut’s film Emergency was supposed to be screened.

Following this, the cinema management deferred their plans to avoid any untoward incident. Meanwhile, security was beefed up outside the multiplexes, malls and theatres as preventive measures.

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The SGPC alleged that the film had a wrong plot and portrayed Sikhs in bad light, depicting them to be extremists and anti-nationals. The role of Sikhs, portrayed through Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, in this film was factually incorrect, alleged the SGPC.

On the eve of the film's release, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami had demanded CM Bhagwant Singh Mann and DCs of all districts of Punjab to ban the film in the state, otherwise state-wide protests would be conducted.

SGPC’s Dharam Parchar Committee member Ajaib Singh Abhyasi, who headed the protest against the film at PVR Suraj Chanda Tara Cinema, said that the SGPC representatives have staged protests and the film show has been cancelled.

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“We called off the protest only after the management of the cinema complexes assured us not to run the film. A few advance bookings were done in one of the multiplexes in Amritsar, which would be refunded to the ticket buyers,” he said.

The film explores the tumultuous period of Emergency in India, declared by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975.

In the teaser released on August 14, 2024, Bhindranwale was shown to be in cohorts with Indira Gandhi, promising to bring in votes for the Congress in lieu of a separate Sikh state. This was "offensive" and damaging to the community's image.

SGPC’s contest is that Bhindranwale had no connection with it and was nowhere in the scene then. He became the chief of the Damdami Taksal in 1977 only, after the demise of Kartar Singh.

“The peaceful protest by Sikhs was never made part of the film. Rather, Bhindranwale, who was nowhere in the picture then, was portrayed as a Sikh representative in a negative light. This was a politically motivated attempt to tarnish the image of Sikhs portraying them to be as peace disrupters and anti-national,” Ajaib Singh said.

SGPC members will protest against the release of Kangana Ranaut's film Emergency at a Cinema in Patiala on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAJESH SACHAR

He said the fact is that Punjab leaders, especially the SAD leaders, including Parkash Singh Badal and Gurcharan Singh Tohra and others protested against Indira’s decision of imposing Emergency in a peaceful manner only and courted arrests to lodge their protest.

Earlier, the SGPC had sent legal notices to the film makers. To which, they had reverted that the objectionable portion would be removed, but there was no official communication in this regard.

“SGPC was never taken into confidence and no Sikh body representative was appointed in the Censor board apprising them about our objections and having no inkling about the film's final prints,” he said.

A resolution against the film was also passed in the executive and general house of the Sikh body on September 28, 2024, demanding a ban on it.

Owing to the protest by Sikh organisations, movie of Kangana Ranaut was cancelled by the cinema halls in the Pavillion mall. A notice has also been put up outside the mall in Ludhiana PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN

The SGPC had also written to Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw and Central Board of Film Certification’s chairperson Prasoon Joshi to remove the distorted content. As a result, the release, scheduled for September 6, was deferred. Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh had then termed it as an ‘anti-Sikh film’ and demanded a ban on its release.

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