Mumbai. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on Thursday told the Bombay High Court that Kangana Ranaut’s film ‘Emergency’ can be issued a certificate after removing some scenes from it as recommended by the board’s revising committee. The film was earlier scheduled to release on September 6 but it is in a dispute with the censor board due to not issuing a certificate for the release of the film.
Ranaut has directed the film and is also its co-producer. She has also played the lead role of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the film. The actress has accused the CBFC of not issuing a certificate to delay the release. This biographical film came into controversy when some Sikh organizations including Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) objected to it and accused it of misrepresenting the community and distorting historical facts.
Justice B.P. Colabawala and Justice Firdaus Pooniwala had last week reprimanded the CBFC for not being able to decide on issuing a certificate to the film. The High Court had said that the censor board cannot sit quietly like this and it will have to take its decision in some way or the other otherwise it would be tantamount to curbing freedom of expression.
The court directed the CBFC to take its decision by September 25.
The film’s co-producer Zee Entertainment Enterprises had filed a petition in the High Court requesting the CBFC to issue a certificate for the film ‘Emergency’ directed by Kangana Ranaut. The bench on Thursday asked the CBFC if there was “good news” about the film. Advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, appearing for the CBFC, told the court that the board’s review committee has taken its decision.
He said, “The committee has suggested removing some scenes before issuing the certificate. After this the film can be released.” Senior advocate Sharan Jagtiani, appearing for Zee Entertainment, requested time to decide whether the scenes should be removed from the film or not. The bench then fixed September 30 as the next date of hearing in the case. Zee Entertainment claimed in its petition that the CBFC has already given the certificate to the film but it is not releasing it.
Last week, Zee Entertainment had alleged that the film was not being issued a certificate due to political reasons and in view of the upcoming elections in Haryana. The bench expressed surprise and asked why the ruling party would act against Ranaut, who herself is an MP from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).