Besides sharing the teaser of the film and her first look as Gandhi on Instagram, the actress also shared a picture from the special pooja ceremony. “Most amazing day of my life… it’s like a rebirth. Be a filmmaker will always be my favourite job,” the actress captioned the click as she began work on the film that also marks her solo directorial venture.
The film is billed as the story of a watershed moment in the political history of India. Ranaut, who directed the 2019 movie ‘Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi’, said she was fascinated by the power dynamics that came into play at the time.
“‘Emergency’ reflects one of the most important periods in Indian political history which changed the way we view power and that’s why I decided to tell this story,” the actor said in a statement.
The Emergency was imposed by Gandhi for a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977, when the fundamental rights of the people were put under strict curbs.
Gandhi lifted the Emergency in 1977 and called for Lok Sabha elections in which the Congress was handed a crushing defeat – it’s first-ever since the country’s independence in 1947 – by the combined opposition of the Janata Party.
Ranaut, who essayed the role of the late actor-politician J Jayalalithaa in 2021’s ‘Thalaivi’, said it is always challenging to play a renowned personality. In ‘Manikarnika’, she starred as the freedom fighter Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi.
“Playing a public figure on-screen is always a challenge because one has to get the look, the characteristics and the persona right. I spent a significant amount of time researching the subject and once I felt I had enough ammunition, I commenced on the film’s shoot,” she added.
Ritesh Shah of ‘Pink’ fame has penned the screenplay and dialogues of the upcoming film.
