Madhur Bhandarkar’s Next Is A Love Story Set Against The Emergency

Is Madhur Bhandarkar taking advantage of his closeness to PM Modi for the making of his film ‘Indu Sarkar’?

Director Madhur Bhandarkar, known for his films inspired by real incidents, is all set to direct a love story set against the Emergency. He has named the film Indu Sarkar.

Sources claim that the film will tell the tale of two lovers, during the volatile times of the Emergency, back in the late 70s. The film would also showcase the violent circumstances that India went through during that time under Indira Gandhi’s tenure as Prime Minister. The shooting is scheduled to begin in November.

Madhur Bhandarkar's next movie on 1975 Emergency to be called "Indu Sarkar", shooting to begin this November.

— ANI (@ANI_news) October 12, 2016

Is Madhur Bhandarkar Riding On His Closeness to the Modi Government?

Director Madhur Bhandarkar is considered to be quite close to the Modi government. This might serve as an advantage to him during the making of this movie. This is so because the film faced a huge resistance from the government before PM Modi took over.

So now, can we assume that film makers and directors who want to make a film on an anti-Congress or pro-BJP issue, could benefit under the current regime?

Paresh Rawal to Make a Film on PM Modi

Before this Paresh Rawal, Bollywood actor and BJP MP from Ahmadabad, had also said that he would make a biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the beginning, he was to play the lead role himself, and later he also chose to produce the film. When Mr Rawal was contacted about Mr Modi’s permission for the film, he said,

The PM has no problem with the making of the film. When I first told Mr Modi about this, his first reaction was, “If you want to make a film, go ahead.”

Paresh Rawal

There is no information yet on the name and release date of the film.

A Film on the 1984 Riots to be Released Soon

The trailer of 31st October, a film set against the backdrop of the Sikh riots in 1984 has recently been released too. The film has been directed by Shivaji Patil, winner of the National Award for his Marathi film Dhaag. Vir Das and Soha Ali Khan play the lead roles and the film is supposedly based on real incidents.

Politics Has Stalled and Delayed Many Movies in the Past

Kissa Kursi Ka, also a story set in the Emergency, satirizes Indira Gandhi as well as Sanjay Gandhi. The film was submitted for certification in 1975 but was only released later in March 1977.

Likewise, Aandhi, made under the direction of Gulzar, was initially banned on the pretext that it showed Indira Gandhi in a negative light. Protests followed the ban leading to the film’s release.

Final Solution (2004), a documentary made on the 2002 Gujarat riots, has not seen the light of day yet. Sources suggest that the documentary has included instances from the Godhara tragedy and the Gujarat riots very comprehensively. However, the documentary is now available on YouTube.

(Translated from The Quint, Hindi by Harshita Murarka)