Mumbai. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on Monday told the Bombay High Court that actress-producer Kangana Ranaut has agreed to remove some scenes from the film ‘Emergency’ on the CBFC’s suggestion. Justice B. A division bench of Justice P. Colabawala and Justice Firdous Pooniwala was hearing a petition filed by the film’s co-producer Zee Entertainment Enterprises in which the court was requested to direct the CBFC to grant certificate to the Ranaut starrer film.
The film was initially scheduled to release on September 6 but it got embroiled in a dispute with the Censor Board over the certificate not being issued for the film’s release. Ranaut has directed the film and is also its co-producer. The actress has also played the lead role of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the film. He accused CBFC of not issuing the certificate with the intention of delaying the release of the film.
The biographical film ran into controversy when some Sikh organizations including the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) raised objections and alleged that the film had portrayed the community in a negative light and tampered with the facts. Advocate Sharan Jagtiani, appearing for Zee Entertainment, told the High Court during the hearing on Monday that Ranaut had informed him about the revised changes that they (CBFC) wanted to make.
He said that an agreement has been reached between him (Kangana) and CBFC on this matter and it has been discussed. However, he said that Zee Entertainment needs time to confirm whether the scenes will be deleted. Ranaut’s Manirikinka Films is the co-producer of the film. Advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, appearing for CBFC, told the bench that removing these scenes will not affect the duration of the film. He said that Manirikyanka Films has agreed to most of the changes.
The court adjourned the hearing of the case till October 3 and asked both the parties to take appropriate instructions. Zee Entertainment claimed in its petition that CBFC had already made the certificate for the film, but is not issuing it. Zee Entertainment had earlier alleged that the certificate was not issued due to political reasons and the upcoming elections in Haryana. The bench had then wondered why the ruling party would take action against Ranaut, who herself is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP.