From 'Aandhi' to 'Nasbandi': Films that faced censorship during Emergency

New Delhi: The 21 months of Emergency saw the government impose stringent censorship on the world of arts and cinema. Several films -- either completed or in production -- came under scrutiny for their content during this period.

Here's a look at films that were banned, stalled, or faced issues during the Emergency:

1. Aandhi- Widely believed to be inspired by the life of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Gulzar's 1975 movie was banned shortly after its release. Though the filmmakers maintained it was a fictional story, the similarities between the lead character of Aarti Devi, played by Suchitra Sen, and Gandhi were hard to miss, especially the white streak in her hair.

The ban was lifted after the Emergency ended.

2. Kissa Kursi Ka- A satire about the prevailing political scenario by filmmaker Amrit Nahata, the movie's negative was destroyed and its prints confiscated by then Information and Broadcasting minister VC Shukla, who was close to Indira Gandhi's younger son Sanjay Gandhi.

The movie's lead character of Gangaram was modelled on Sanjay Gandhi and it also starred Shabana Azmi, Raj Babbar, Raj Kiran and Utpal Dutt.

Nahata remade the movie and released it in 1978. However, this version also faced censorship.

3. Andolan- The Lekh Tandon-directed movie was a politically-charged film which dealt with the 1942 Quit India Movement. It revolved around an Indian teacher who begins a rebellion against the British colonial government in his hometown.

The movie, starring Rakesh Pandey and Neetu Singh, also faced the censor’s snip during the Emergency.

4. Chanda Marutha- Based on P Lankesh’s beloved play, "Kranthi Bantu Kranthi", the Kannada film was made just before the Emergency broke out.

It was directed by Pattabhi Rama Reddy and featured his wife Snehlata Reddy. Snehlata was thrown into jail and died just five days after being released on parole.

5. Nasbandi- Directed by I S Johar, the movie was a satirical take on the forced sterilization campaign that was carried out during the Emergency. The film featured duplicates of leading actors of the time -- Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Manoj Kumar and Rajesh Khanna.

Due to its controversial subject, the film was banned but was released in 1978 after the political environment changed.

6. Kranti ki Tarangein (Waves of Revolution)- The first-ever documentary by Anand Patwardhan chronicled the start of the JP Movement in Bihar and how it snowballed into a national movement before Emergency was imposed in 1975.

Anand was just 25 when he made this movie in 1975 and captured the mass mobilisation and civil unrest at a time when the mainstream media was under increasing state pressure. It was widely circulated by underground groups throughout the Emergency.