Kangana Ranaut’s decline as an actor feels complete, observes Utkarsh Mishra.

What would you, my fellow Indian, envision if I asked you to imagine a dramatic depiction of the sequence when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared war on Pakistan in 1971?

Whatever you picture, I’m certain it wouldn’t involve Opposition leaders — including Atal Bihari Vajpayee (even though he was a poet) — breaking into song, thumping their desks in Parliament, and later being joined by Treasury bench members.

Nor would it include the legendary General Sam Manekshaw singing along with his men, thumping their chests, and saluting the Indian map. (Thankfully, Sam is not around to witness this.)

Yet, that is how Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kangana Ranaut portrays this chapter in Emergency, her biopic of India’s first woman prime minister, finally released after a protracted battle with the censors.

It’s surprising the censors didn’t demand this scene be cut. The film leaves you grasping for the mot juste to describe it.

Nobody expects Bollywood to produce biographical or historical films on par with Lincoln (2012) or All the Way (2016).

But the industry has evolved enough to at least spare us the agony of seeing historical figures breaking into song during pivotal moments.

And what is with the deafening background score that sometimes even drowns out the dialogue?

It’s futile to try separating fact from fiction in this film.

The performances are so superficial that they don’t warrant a discussion of nuance, or the lack thereof.

Ranaut’s decline as an actor feels complete.

In the age of social media, most of us have watched archival footage of Mrs Gandhi’s interviews and speeches.

The resolute, decisive eyes and confident demeanor are glaringly absent in Ranaut’s portrayal.

Instead, her character is almost always teary-eyed and lacking in confidence.

The only moment where the film appears to find its footing is when Ranaut’s Indira visits a village in Bihar to meet peasants tormented by landlords. But even this fizzles out as the film abruptly jumps to her swearing-in in 1980, glossing over significant events in between.

Other crucial chapters of history are treated with similar haste.

The film opens with overt Nehru-baiting and progresses to depict a weak and broken Indira Gandhi rising to power, her sinister attempts to consolidate it, her eventual regret and self-reflection and finally, her redemption through public engagement and martyrdom.

Even if this trajectory was the intent, it could have been executed far better.

In fact, almost any other approach would have been an improvement.

Watch out for the full review in just a bit!

Emergency Review Rediff Rating: