I asked Priyanka Gandhi to watch ‘Emergency’, she said ‘Okay, maybe’: Kangana Ranaut
The Hindu
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Kangana Ranaut, who crossed paths in Parliament, discussed the film ‘Emergency’, set to release in January, 2025
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra complimented Kangana Ranaut on her work and her hair when they crossed paths in Parliament and responded with an “okay, maybe” when the actor and BJP MP asked the Congress leader to watch her new film Emergency.
The much-in-the-news film sees Kangana playing the late Indira Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi’s grandmother. Directed and produced by Kangana, it documents the 21 months of Emergency imposed in 1975 by then prime minister Indira Gandhi.
“I met Mrs Priyanka Gandhi in Parliament and she complimented me on my work and my hair. So I was like, ‘You know, I made this film Emergency and maybe you should see it’. And she was like, ‘Okay, maybe’. And I think if they have a little bit of acceptance for what has been, they will appreciate the film,” Kangana told PTI in a video interview about her brief interaction with the Wayanad MP.
The film will release on January 17, 2025, after months of controversy over its censor certificate and allegations that it misrepresents the Sikh community. Kangana, the BJP’s MP from Mandi, said she took “no liberties at all” in the portrayal of Indira Gandhi and the Emergency months.
The actor, often in the news for her comments, added that she thought Indira Gandhi was a "very powerful person" before she started working on Emergency.
"But when I did my research, I understood it was quite the contrary. It also strengthened my belief that the weaker you are, the more control you would want. She was a very weak person and she was also very unsure of herself and really vulnerable.
"She had many crutches around and she was constantly seeking a kind of validation. She was also hugely dependent on many people, one of them was Sanjay Gandhi... I didn't have that kind of empathy for her before Emergency." Kangana is no stranger to playing real-life characters on screen: she portrayed freedom fighter Rani of Jhansi in Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi and the late Tamil Nadu chief minister-film star J Jayalalithaa in Thalaivii.
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