Emergency movie review: Kangana Ranaut's fine performance as Indira Gandhi makes this political drama bearable

Emergency movie review: Fine acting performances, led by Kangana Ranaut, salvage this film, but only barely, as a week script lets it down.

Emergency movie review: I walked inside the theatre to watch Emergency, and that prosthetic nose on Kangana Ranaut’s face, trying to help her look like the late Indira Gandhi- combined with the involuntary facial twitches- made it clear ‘this is going to be a caricaturish portrayal’. (

Emergency movie review: Kangana Ranaut plays former PM Indira Gandhi in this political thriller.

Movie reviews usually begin with a bit about the story and the pace, and not flaws about the actors in charge straight away. But much like she says in the film ‘Indira is India, and India is Indira’, Emergency too can stand as a film only because of Kangana, who changes your perception about it as things progress.

The premise of Emergency

The political thriller begins by tracking the events that led to the imposition of the Emergency in India in 1975. With a supporting cast like the late Satish Kaushik, Shreyas Talpade, and Anupam Kher, the film’s treatment feels like a political science lesson.

And that might just make you reach out for your smartphone- not to research, but check messages and your social media. Attention spans of viewers have been going down over the years, so all this clearly doesn’t help. The intention is right though- Indira’s hamartia here is she feels she’s impossible to mess with. But the film doesn’t believe in subtlety- for example, Indira's remorse for imposing the Emergency didn’t need to be explained via ghastly mirror reflections. Kangana emoting it was enough. Similarly, focusing the camera on the picture of a lioness and then on Kangana’s face- we get the point!

What works and what doesn't

The execution falters, and certain moments come off as unintentionally funny in the first half.

The intermission comes as Indira announces the emergency, and by then, you are close to giving up. But there’s a change of gears as you settle into your seats again, and Kangana finally takes charge. Some power-packed moments in the second half, combined with a few emotional ones, salvage Emergency. Kangana, as an actor, is good, so you are willing to forgive her for that prosthetic nose. Watch out for her, specifically in the scene where she faces a huge personal loss.

The music of the film… did we really need all these iconic personalities breaking into songs? Two such lip-sync sequences have a disconnect. Ae Meri Jaan, featuring Hariharan, however, feels soothing to the ears and has been placed aptly.

Emergency doesn’t seem to harbour a wish to whitewash or tarnish Indira’s actions. What happened under her watch during the Emergency, her son Sanjay Gandhi’s death- Kangana, the director, has tried to keep it balanced. As the role demands, Anupam delivers a restrained performance, while the late Satish proves his mettle in just one line. What an actor!

To sum up, Emergency’s scramble to cram as much as possible into one film lets it down. It’s watchable if you want to see good acting. But then, what’s good acting without an engaging story?