Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency delayed: CBFC asks for cuts in the movie

Kangana Ranaut ‘Emergency’ film release delay: The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) told the Bombay High Court that Kangana Ranaut’s film, ‘Emergency’, would be allowed to be released if there were certain cuts made to it. This comes after Ranaut had said in an interview that she would not cut any parts of her movie and is determined to release it as she made it. 

A division bench of Justices B P Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla, last week, asked the CBFC to make up its mind, and criticised it for not taking a stance on the issuance of the certificate on the movie. The bench said that CBFC cannot sit on the fence and needs to decide one way or the other, or it would amount to curtailing the freedom of speech and expression. It had asked the censor board to decide by September 25. 

On Thursday the bench asked CBFC what it decided. "The committee has suggested some cuts before certificate can be issued and movie can be released," said CBFC's counsel Abhinav Chandrachud. 

Senior counsel Sharan Jagtiani, appearing for Zee Entertainment, the movie’s co-producer, sought time to take a decision on whether or not the cuts can be made.

The next hearing in the matter would be on September 30. 

Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Emergency’ was scheduled for release on September 6. It has been embroiled in a battle with the censor board over its certification. The makers accused CBFC of stalling the certification process. 

Certain Sikh organisations, including the Shiromani Akali Dal, objected to the release of the film, accusing it of misrepresenting the community and getting historical facts wrong. 

Kangana Ranaut has directed and co-produced the film, and also portrays the lead role of former prime minister Indira Gandhi.