Emergency Budget, Box Office Collection, Cast, Release Date, Review, Hit or Flop
Emergency is a 2025 Indian Hindi-language drama film based on real events. It was directed and co-produced by Kangana Ranaut. Ritesh Shah wrote the screenplay, and Ranaut wrote the story. The film is about the Indian Emergency, and Ranaut plays the role of Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India.
The film began shooting in July 2022 and was completed by January 2023. It was earlier planned to release on 6 September 2024, but was delayed due to approval from the Central Board of Film Certification. After approval, it was released in theaters on 17 January 2025. Critics gave mixed reviews. The film also did not perform well at the box office and proved to be a flop.
About Emergency Movie
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Kangana Ranaut |
| Screenplay by | Ritesh Shah |
| Story by | Kangana Ranaut |
| Based on | The Emergency: A Personal History by Coomi Kapoor Priyadarshini: The Daughter of India by Jaiyanth Vasanth Sinha |
| Produced by | Kangana Ranaut, Zee Studios, Renu Pitti |
| Starring | Kangana Ranaut, Vishak Nair, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Mahima Chaudhry, Milind Soman, Satish Kaushik, Darshan Pandya |
| Cinematography | Tetsuo Nagata |
| Edited by | Rameshwar S. Bhagat |
| Music by (Songs) | G. V. Prakash Kumar, Arko |
| Music by (Score) | Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara |
| Production companies | Manikarnika Films, Zee Studios |
| Distributed by | Zee Studios |
| Release date | 17 January 2025 |
| Running time | 146 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Emergency Film Plot
After India gained independence, Indira Gandhi started moving up in the Congress party. Initially, the syndicate was used as her face. But she stood firm on her stand, went against her stand on Operation Searchlight and started talking to big world leaders. Gradually, with the support of some opposition parties, she gained complete control. People appreciated her strong role during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war, which made her very popular.
In 1975, the Allahabad High Court said that her election victory was not deserved. After that, she called for a national emergency, saying that this was necessary to save democracy. During this time, the government took away people’s rights, closed the press and sent opposition leaders to jail. During this time, her son Sanjay Gandhi became powerful and started programs like forced birth control operations and slum demolition, which many people did not like.
On 15 August 1975, Indira wanted to end the Emergency, but after hearing about the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Bangladesh, she changed her mind. Later, she spoke to thinker J. Krishnamurthy and saw how much damage had been done. She finally ended the Emergency in 1977 and announced elections. The Congress lost, and she even went to jail for a while.
Years later, when there was no food in a village, Indira herself went there. She promised help and won the love of many people back. This helped her return to politics. The story also depicts her grief when her son Sanjay Gandhi died in a plane crash. At the same time, trouble was growing in Punjab under the leadership of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Despite people warning her, Indira did not remove her Sikh bodyguards.
On 31 October 1984, her bodyguards assassinated her. The film ends with his last speech in Odisha, where he says that he did not live to rule India, he lived to serve it.
Cast And Crew of Emergency Film
Director
| Name |
|---|
| Kangana Ranaut |
Writers
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Tanvi Kesari Pasumarthy | Additional Dialogue |
| Kangana Ranaut | Story |
| Ritesh Shah | Screenplay |
| Jayant Sinha | Associate Writer |
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Anupam Kher | Jai Prakash Narayan |
| Kangana Ranaut | Prime Minister Indira Gandhi |
| Mahima Chaudhry | Pupul Jayakar |
| Shreyas Talpade | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| Bhoomika Chawla | — |
| Milind Soman | Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw |
| Satish Kaushik | Jagjivan Ram |
| Sunny Singh | Zail Singh |
| Richard Bhakti Klein | Henry Kissinger |
| Ayush Sharma | Satwant Singh |
| Scott Alexander Young | President Richard Nixon |
| Vishak Nair | Sanjay Gandhi |
| Avijit Dutt | J. Krishnamurthy |
| Daria Gavrushenko | Reporter BBC (credit only) |
| Vijay Rajoria | Justice Jag Mohan Lal Sinha |
| Bondip Sarma | Bihari Thakur |
| Christophe Guybet | Pompidou |
| Cesar Lorente Raton | Anoop Puri |
| Yahya Khan | — |
Emergency Box Office Collection Worldwide
| Schedule | Amount |
|---|---|
| India Box Office Nett | ₹ 16.52 Cr |
| India Box Office Gross | ₹ 19.67 Cr |
| Overseas Gross | ₹ 2.08 Cr |
| Worldwide Collections Gross | ₹ 21.75 Cr |
Emergency Movie Review
Emergency (2025) attempts to depict one of the most important periods in Indian politics – the Emergency declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 1975 to 1977. The subject matter of the film was very broad, full of political drama, legal complications and real stories that needed to be carefully depicted. But sadly, Kangana Ranaut does a good job as Indira Gandhi, but her direction doesn’t work. The film feels more like a dress-up play than a real political film.
Now let’s talk about what was good. Kangana, as an actor, gives her all in playing the role of Indira Gandhi. The makeup, hairstyle and clothes help her look like the late Prime Minister. It seems like she has copied Gandhi’s body language, manner of speaking and gestures. In a few scenes, she really exudes energy and focus.
But still, her own direction holds her back. Instead of letting the scene flow naturally, the film cuts too quickly or plays loud music that breaks up the moment. Occasionally it really shines, but those parts are lost because the film becomes too loud and overdone.
