After cinemas in Punjab in India, protests by British Sikhs have prompted cinemas in three UK cities — Birmingham, Wolverhampton and West London — to cancel the screenings of Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency. The protesters, who held demonstrations at more cinemas across the UK, described the political film as “anti-Sikh Indian state propaganda”.
The film, produced by Zee Studios and Kangana Ranaut, was discontinued from Birmingham Star City Vue, Hounslow and Feltham Cineworld on January 17, and from Wolverhampton Cineworld on January 18. It continued to be screened in the other cinemas, but it is not clear for how long it would be allowed.
In a statement, the Sikh Press Association said, “The film is viewed as anti-Sikh Indian state propaganda for its depiction of ex-PM Indira Gandhi’s role in the Sikh genocide. She was the PM who initiated the Sikh genocide before her assassination by her Sikh bodyguards. The film is released at a time where Sikh censorship and anti-Sikh propaganda are strongly pushed by India. Yet a film biopic on revered Shaheed Jaswant Singh Khalra, who exposed the genocide as it continued into the ’90s, has faced severe restrictions in its release.”