Through 'Indu Sarkar,' Bhandarkar wants present generation to know what happened during emergency

Amid the controversy over his directorial venture 'Indu Sarkar', filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar said that through his movie, he wants the present generation to know what exactly happened during the 1975-77 emergency.

While talking to ANI, the 48-year-old said that he always try to make films, which are topical and issue-based as period cinema does not fascinate him much.

"I felt that emergency would be the right backdrop. It has been used to tell a story about Indu and her husband Naveen Sarkar and her journey from 1975 to 1977 in New Delhi," he said.

"Nobody has ever made a movie on emergency in totality and people always wanted to put it under the carpet, but I wanted that today's generation to know what exactly happened during the emergency. The movie is a very good summary of it, and gives a human touch to it," he added.

The Central Board of Film Certification's Revising Committee has cleared 'Indu Sarkar' for Friday's release, and expressing elation over the same, the 'Heroine' director said, "I feel absolutely great and revealed. The best part is that I appreciate the revising committee, who saw the movie and understood the gravity of the movie."

'Indu Sarkar' is based on a 21-month long period, from 1975 to 1977, when the then prime minister Indira Gandhi unilaterally had a state of emergency declared across the country.

After ordering 12 cuts, the CBFC had granted U/A certificate to the film.

The trailer of the movie led the Congress party to ask the CBFC for a review before it comes under the scanner.

In this regard, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam wrote to CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani, expressing the grand old party's wish to watch the movie before it is 'censored'.

Earlier also, Bhandarkar had censured the controversy surrounding his upcoming directorial venture and had asserted that the movie is not a documentary, but a work of fiction.

"This is completely wrong, and controvery like this should not happen because I made a film as a filmmaker and I'm saying that 70 percent of film is fiction and 30 percent is reality. The reality is based on the books and the documentaries made on them. I don't understand the demand that they (the Congress) want to watch the movie before its release. Let my film get censor board clearance and the moment it is released in the theaters, you can go and watch the film," Bhandarkar said.

Furthermore, reiterating Nirupam's request, Maharashtra Leader of Opposition (LoP) Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil wrote to state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to intervene in the matter revolving around the controversial movie 'Indu Sarkar' based on the Emergency imposed by former prime minister Indira Gandhi.

Priya Singh Paul, who claims to be the biological daughter of late Congress leader Sanjay Gandhi, had also filed a writ petition at the Bombay High Court against the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and the makers of 'Indu Sarkar' to put a stay on the release of Madhur Bhandarkar's upcoming film.

-ANI