
Emergency Movie Review 2024: A Flawed Retelling of Historical Events
Emergency Movie Review: Kangana Ranaut’s much-awaited film, released on January 17 after overcoming censor board challenges, explores important moments in Indian history but struggles in storytelling, character development and delivering an impactful narrative despite its intriguing premise and historical significance.
Table of Contents
ToggleSetting the Stage
The film opens in 1929 at Anand Bhavan, the Nehru family residence. Young Indira Gandhi is shown playing in the garden, symbolizing her innocent beginnings. The screenplay introduces her aunt Vijay Lakshmi, as well as other women who seem to be mere extras. Unfortunately, these characters lack depth, making it difficult to focus on the central characters. This sets the tone for the film’s major problem: an incoherent narrative.
A key moment comes when Indira’s grandfather takes her to Indraprastha, and plants the idea that “this country belongs to the one who owns Delhi.” While this scene attempts to establish Indira’s ideological foundation, it lacks the emotional weight to leave a lasting impact.
Screenplay and Storytelling Method
A major flaw of Emergency lies in its screenplay. The narrative jumps from one anecdote to another without coherent transitions. Similar to the approach seen in Sam Bahadur, this reduces the film to a series of historical events rather than a compelling story.
For any biographical film, it is important to explore the inner workings of its characters. However, Emergency fails to humanise its protagonists. Characters such as Indira Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, JP Narayan and Atal Bihari Vajpayee are depicted in a one-dimensional manner. For instance, Sanjay Gandhi is always shown angry, with no exploration of his motives or other personality traits. This lack of nuance makes it difficult for the audience to connect with these historical figures.
Acting and Direction
Despite talented actors like Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher and Shreyas Talpade, the film does not utilize their full potential. The same kind of characterization does not give the actors a chance to showcase their potential. As a result, Emergency is one of the mediocre performances of these otherwise accomplished actors.
Kangana Ranaut’s direction, though ambitious, often fails to strike a balance between the grandeur of the historical backdrop and the personal stories of the characters. Though she manages to highlight some emotional moments, they are few and far between.
Memorable Moments
Despite its shortcomings, Emergency has some impressive scenes. One such moment comes when Indira Gandhi is leaving the Prime Minister’s residence. The emotional send-off by her staff offering to work for free highlights a touching human side of her character. Another great scene shows Indira’s visit to Bihar, where the iconic slogan “Aadhi roti khayenge, Indira ji ko laayenge” originated. Here, the film presents its heroine with humility, bringing her to the attention of the audience.
However, these moments are the exception rather than the rule. The film’s overall impact is diminished by its inconsistent storytelling.
Language and accessibility
The film features dialogues in Hindi, Bengali, French and Telugu, which add authenticity to its depiction of diverse settings. While some of these dialogues are dubbed into Hindi, others are left in their original languages, often without subtitles. This decision hampers the audience’s ability to fully understand key scenes. Subtitles could have greatly enhanced the film’s accessibility and immersion.
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Conclusion
Emergency is an ambitious attempt to capture the complexities of a turbulent period in Indian history. However, its inconsistent narrative, one-dimensional characters and missed opportunities overshadow some of its emotional and impactful moments. Though it is worth watching for its historical context and select scenes, the film ultimately falls short of its potential.
Ultimately, Emergency is a reminder that even the most important stories require careful and consistent storytelling to genuinely connect with audiences.
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