'Complete harassment': Kangana reacts as her film 'Emergency' screening halted in Punjab

Statewide protests erupted on Friday against the screening of Kangana Ranaut's "Emergency" in Punjab, with state leaders alleging that the film "hurt" the brotherhood in the country.

"Emergency" is a character-driven exploration of Indira Gandhi's controversial tenure and the imposition of the Emergency.

Reacting to the protests, a statement from Kangana team read:  "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".

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… https://t.co/VQEWMqiFih

— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) January 17, 2025

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) stated that their protest was against the film "Emergency" because it depicts the history of the Sikh religion and the history of 1984 in a "distorted" manner.

If the film is released in Punjab, it will spark "outrage and anger" in the Sikh community and therefore it is the responsibility of the government to ban its release in the state, he wrote.

The SGPC has also submitted memorandums to all the deputy commissioners in Punjab, seeking a ban on the film in the state.

In August last year, the SGPC sent a legal notice to the film's producers, alleging that it "misrepresented" the character and history of Sikhs, and asked them to remove objectionable scenes depicting "anti-Sikh" sentiments.

Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said that governments and censor boards must keep an eye on films like "Emergency" because such films show scripted stories, which are not true, adding that "the facts are twisted; otherwise, they wouldn't be successful if there was no masala.”

"Whenever such films are made, the facts are twisted in them because the film won't succeed if there is no 'masala.' Similarly, Udta Punjab was also made...I mean to say that it is not right that such films are made only for entertainment. Governments and censor boards should keep an eye on such movies as they harm the brotherhood in the country because what is shown is not true, it is just a scripted story," Warring, who is also a Congress MP, told ANI.

Leaders of farmer groups from Sindhupur gathered outside the cinemas located in Dhillon Plaza and Cosmo Plaza in Zirakpur, Mohali. The farmers have alleged that Kangana Ranaut used vulgar language against them during the ongoing farmers' protest. The protests were also reported in Ludhiana, Bathinda, and Jalandhar.