Cinema and the Indian National Emergency

<p><b>The Indian National Emergency of 1975 to 1977, saw the suspension of civil liberties, increasing censorship, and extra-judicial state control. It is recognised as one of the most tumultuous periods in the history of postcolonial India, and its socio-political consequences have been exhaustively studied. Despite this, the profound cinematic implications of this event have remained relatively unexplored.</b><br><br> This book examines the strained relationship between the state and the Indian film industry during this 21 month period of political upheaval. Each of the essays, written from a broad range of critical perspectives, consider the various modes of state suppression adopted, from increasing levels of film censorship to police surveillance of film productions and exhibitions.<br><br>Contributors analyse controversial films such as <i>Aandhi </i>(1975) and <i>Nasbandi </i>(1978), which were banned for the duration of the Emergency, and overtly political films such as <i>Kissa Kursi Ka </i>(1977), the prints of which were permanently confiscated owing to the film’s criticisms of the state. They also consider the political and aesthetic dilemmas of state-sponsored films such as <i>Ashadh Ka Ek Din </i>(1971), which was made to be explicitly apolitical and came to be known as a key work of New Indian Cinema.</p>