Will Kangana Ranaut's 'Emergency' Add To BJP's Offensive?

Kangana Ranaut is, once more, angry. On June 25, addressing a few reporters, she said, 바카라�Those who are making a big deal about the Constitution these days in the Parliament바카라�shouting, doing nautanki [drama]바카라�their black deeds will come out on 6th September.바카라� She had chosen a strategic date for her outburst: June 25, the day Indira Gandhi declared Emergency in the country 49 years ago, suspending civil liberties, censoring the press, undermining the Constitution. The other date, September 6, referred to Ranaut바카라�s next release, Emergency, where she plays Gandhi. Besides acting in it, she바카라�s also produced and directed the movie. 

Over the last few days, several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have invoked the Emergency to attack the Congress. 바카라�Those who imposed Emergency,바카라� wrote Prime Minister Narendra Modi on X, 바카라�have no right to profess love for our Constitution.바카라� The Constitution has been in news for quite some time, including becoming an election issue바카라�the INDIA bloc leaders accused the BJP of wanting to change it바카라�so the saffron party has launched an offensive to counter that narrative. On June 25, the BJP said it바카라�d start a nationwide program to 바카라�expose바카라� the 바카라�Congress바카라� party바카라�s authoritarianism바카라� and 바카라�disregard for the Constitution바카라�.

Even the neutral parties condemned the Emergency: President Droupadi Murmu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. And Ranaut바카라�s film will ensure that, even after a few months, the show will go on. 

Ranaut hasn바카라�t released the movie바카라�s trailer yet바카라�only a short teaser exists online바카라�but knowing her politics, and revulsion for the Congress, there바카라�s little doubt about its tone or tenor. Like Akshay Kumar, she has used cinema to further the BJP바카라�s politics. Her directorial debut, Manikarnika (2019), a jingoistic period drama with Hindutva undertones, was an old whine in a new bottle. In Tejas (2023), playing an Indian Air Force officer, she prevented the terrorists from destroying the Ram Mandir. Her Thalaivii (2021), a hagiography of Jayalalithaa, lacked nuance and admired the politician바카라�s authoritarianism.  

바카라�Everybody knows how much I had to struggle to make this film,바카라� said Ranaut in the same exchange with reporters. 바카라�They stopped my funds. I had to mortgage my jewellery and house to make this movie.바카라� Even though she didn바카라�t explain who 바카라�they바카라� were, it바카라�s quite clear that Emergency means a lot to Ranaut. Because this could be a make or break film for her바카라�a last chance to salvage her fading acting career.

Her last box-office hit, Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015), came out around a decade ago. Since then, she바카라�s worked in 11 movies, and some of them바카라�including charged 바카라�political바카라� dramas바카라�have been box-office disasters, doing record low business. Tejas, Dhaakad, and Thalaivii earned less than Rs 4.5 crore in India바카라�many Bollywood films earn much more than that on the first day of release.  

It바카라�s not as if she hasn바카라�t tried. She starred in a Tamil drama, Chandramukhi 2 (2023), which flopped. She produced a film, Tiku Weds Shiru (2023), which was panned by the critics. But more importantly, her shrill propaganda fares have failed to produce any impact, showing it바카라�s not as easy to game the Indian audiences.

Ranaut began planning for Emergency at a different time바카라�when the BJP juggernaut didn바카라�t look like stopping and Rahul Gandhi (or the Gandhi family) looked like pushovers바카라�but that scenario has changed post the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Ranaut did win the seat in Mandi, but, as an actor, it바카라�ll take a lot more for her to win over the audiences across the country.