Kangana Ranaut seeks nod to shoot 'Emergency' inside Parliament premises, likely to be disallowed

Actor Kangana Ranaut has sought permission from the Lok Sabha Secretariat for shooting her upcoming film Emergency inside Parliament premises, sources said on Sunday.

Her letter is under consideration but she is unlikely to be granted permission, they said.

In her letter to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, Ranaut has requested that she be allowed to shoot the film based on the Emergency inside the Parliament premises, they said.

Normally, private entities are not granted permission for shooting or doing videography inside the Parliament premises. If it is being done for any official or government work, then it is a different case, sources told PTI.

Mainly state broadcaster Doordarshan and Sansad TV are allowed to shoot programmes or events inside Parliament, they said.

There is no precedent of permission being given to a private party for shooting inside Parliament for private work, they added.

Shooting for Emergency commenced in June this year. The film is directed, produced and written by Ranaut. She is also playing the role of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, who imposed the Emergency in the country in 1975, in the movie.

Emergency is billed as the story of a watershed moment in the political history of India.

“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,” Ranaut had said in a statement.

She had said she was fascinated by the power dynamics that came into play at the time.

The Emergency was imposed by Gandhi from June 25, 1975 to March 21, 1977. During the 21-month period, the fundamental rights of the people were put under strict curbs.

After lifting the Emergency, Gandhi called for Lok Sabha elections, in which her Congress party was handed a crushing defeat — its first-ever since the country’s independence in 1947 — by the combined opposition of the Janata Party.