There are many stories of how the film industry was affected by the National Emergency. Here we will talk about those films which were banned outright. Those films were not allowed in the cinema hall. Even the prints of some films were burnt. He was stopped from coming till Janata Janardan. Like newspapers, magazines, radio and TV, cinema has also been an important medium of mass communication from the beginning, these stories of ban show this. Today its scope has extended to social media. Cinema not only entertains but also provokes thoughts. Shakes the public mind. The power of cinema is being understood as well in the year 2026 as it was in the year 1975.
emergency Gulzar-directed Aandhi and Ramesh Sippy's Sholay were issued certificates for release after changes in some scenes and the climax, but what many film lovers may not realize is that the opposition to the Emergency was not limited to Bombay cinema only. The spark of protest was raised from Bengal to the South. Satyajit Ray's famous Bengali film Hirak Rajar was a strong attack on the dictatorship, censorship and government propaganda machinery of that time which was misleading the public. So a film like 'Chanda Maruta' was made in Kannada.
The actress of this film, Snehalatha Reddy, was put in jail during the Emergency. There is also a painful story of how much torture the actress was subjected to inside the jail. Its story is more brutal than films like Kissa Kursi Ka, Andolan or Vasbandi. Even before the imposition of Emergency in 1975, the production of a Kannada film named 'Chanda Maruta' had started. Probably since 1972. In Hindi it means- Wild wind. Its story was based on P. Lankesh's play. This play was very popular at that time. The lead actress in the film was Snehalatha Reddy. The director was- Pattabhiram Reddy.
'Chanda Maruta' is still remembered as an anti-government and emergency film. It was made in both Kannada and English languages. Last year, on the fiftieth anniversary of the Emergency, Snehalatha Reddy's daughter Nandana Reddy had shared some shocking information in a conversation. He had said that the shooting of the film had been completed. Then the news spread that emergency had been imposed. After the announcement Snehlata had to hide.
Chanda Marutha has the status of a symbol of resistance in Kannada cinema. In the story of the film, it was said that on the basis of political-social situation, the country is going towards emergency. And as soon as the shooting ended, emergency was imposed in the country. Nandana Reddy had told in that interview that her parents were socialists and were influenced by Ram Manohar Lohia. Politicians and artists of all ideologies used to come to our house. Snehlata was also friends with George Fernandes. Snehalatha Reddy was also arrested along with George and many other politicians during the Emergency. Was put in jail. He was tortured in jail. He was released after a few months but died due to ill health. Thus she could not see the release of her film Chanda Maruta. Which was released in 1977 after the emergency was lifted.
Now let's talk about 'Kissa Kursi Ka'. Its director was Amrit Nahata, who was earlier a member of the Congress Party. He was also a Lok Sabha MP from Barmer, Rajasthan. There was already interest in film production and direction. But after becoming disillusioned with Congress, he left the party and made a political satire film keeping Indira Gandhi-Sanjay Gandhi at the centre. After which he joined the Janata Party. But his film was banned due to its subject, character and incidents. There was strong opposition to dictatorship and emergency in the film. There was sarcasm at Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi as well as many of their colleagues and government programs.
There were so many disagreements with the government regarding the film that all its prints were confiscated from the Central Film Censor Board (then named) and were also burnt. However, later in the investigation report of Shah Commission, Sanjay Gandhi and the then Information and Broadcasting Minister VC Shukla were found guilty for this. Both were also sentenced to jail. In this film, apart from many big theater artists like Utpal Dutt, Manohar Singh, Surekha Sikri, there were also many newcomers of that time who are famous faces today. For example- Shabana Azmi, Raj Babbar etc.
Rehana Sultana also worked in that film and so did Raj Kiran. Rehana Sultana had made headlines with Dastak and Chetna. Although after the emergency was lifted, the film was remade and released but did not find an audience. Now this film is remembered only because it was confiscated and burnt during the Emergency. At the artistic level, this film could not succeed in impressing the audience. This was a satire movie made as a form of resistance.
Similar voices of resistance and sarcasm were seen in some other films which also had to face ban. 'Andolan' directed by Lekh Tandon was also a film of the same mood during the Emergency. Although its plot was of the Quit India Movement of 1942. But its nature was political which was influenced by contemporary times. The story of the film showed ideological conflicts between father and son. The father is an employee of the British government while the son is a teacher and a revolutionary of the freedom movement. Rakesh Pandey and Neetu Singh played lead roles in the film. However, in this film there was neither a sarcasm on the Gandhi family nor on the Congress Party.
In fact, the film was banned because the revolutionary character in it rebels against the government, administration and system. The then Censor Board officials feared that public anger might increase further after watching this film. This film did not fit within the strict rules of censorship in which it was prohibited to show revolution, agitation or rebellion, arson, bloodshed etc. This film was released when Janata Party came to power at the Centre.
In this sequence, famous comedian I.S. Johar's film Nasbandi cannot be forgotten. I.S. Johar has been known for black comedy or spoof in his films. He had earlier made satire movies like Jauhar in Kashmir, Jauhar in Bombay and Five Rifles. He used to raise the topic of every film from among the society. In some, it is a satire on superstition, in some on fashion and in some on politics. In the film Nasbandi, he took a direct dig at the forced sterilization campaign carried out during the Emergency.
The most interesting aspect of the film is that the names of the characters in it imitate the names of famous film artists of that time. For example, Anitav Bachchan for Amitabh Bachchan, Kannauj Kumar for Manoj Kumar, Shahi Kapoor for Shashi Kapoor and Rakesh Khanna for Rajesh Khanna etc.
The purpose behind such naming was the filmmaker's belief that these actors were alleged supporters of the Emergency/Gandhi family or the Congress Party. I.S. Johar was also the director, writer and producer of this film. During the Emergency, this film displeased the government and was banned. But as soon as the government changed, like the movement, it was also allowed to come on screen but this film could not be commercially successful among the general audience. However, the songs for Hullad Moradabadi became very popular in this film. Such as- What did the government get by imposing emergency… Etcetera. The music was composed by Kalyan ji-Anand ji.
