Amid demands to ban Kangana Ranaut’s film ‘Emergency’, police personnel in heavy numbers have been deployed outside the PVR Suraj Chanda Tara Cinema in Punjab’s Amritsar after Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) decided to protest against the film being produced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP.
Speaking to ANI, one SGPC member said, “On the release of actress Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Emergency’ in Punjab, one of the SGPC members says, “Our protest today is over the release of Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Emergency’. In this film history of the Sikh religion and the history of 1984 has been presented in a distorted manner. We had protested against this earlier also when its teaser came out, but the government did nothing against it. The censor board, instead of stopping it, gave it a green signal and the program of the release of the movie was complete. The SGPC taking suo moto has decided to protest against the screening of the film. The cinema owners did not put up the movie today. But we will have to see as the day goes by. If it goes on like this, it will be fine, else it will be intensified if the film is released. The Punjab government will be responsible for the disturbance of Law and Order…because we wrote to the CM also, but there was no reply from him…” (sic)
The film is being released today, January 17, which has invited strong opposition from the SGPC, where the committee has demanded that the film be banned in Punjab. SPGC president Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami wrote a letter to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, accusing the film of being “politically motivated with an aim to defame Sikh community”.
“In a letter to Chief Secretary of the Punjab Government, it was clearly stated that ‘Emergency’ film will not be allowed to be shown in Punjab, as it remains politically motivated with the aim to defame Sikhs,” the letter read.
In a video posted by the committee’s handle on X, SGPC chief Dhami said that they have submitted a demand letter to the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar, requesting him to stop the release of the film that “incorrectly” portrays Sikh characters.
“The role of Sikh characters, especially Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, in this film has been portrayed incorrectly. It always happens that the government often play with the emotions of Sikhs. This is why, we had registered objections earlier before the government to not release the film. However, with the release of the film scheduled in Punjab, we have submitted a letter to DC requesting him to stop the release,”
Meanwhile, the woman member of SGPC in the video says, “After the trailer of the film was released, many registered their objections that history was being presented wrongly and it can hurt sentiments of the Sikhs. However, this film is still being released. SGPC submitted a letter to DC (Amritsar). Meanwhile, SPGC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami has written a letter to Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, demanding that the film should not be released in Punjab at least.”
The letter reads that if the film is released, SGPC will protest against the same, she added.
As this happened, Rekha Sharma, a guard of a cinema hall in Amritsar, told ANI, “I am not sure about the reasons, but the screening of this film (Emergency) will not take place here (at the cinema hall).”
