Kangana Ranaut's film company and Netflix sued by senior journalist and author for historical inaccuracies in their film, Emergency

Indian Express

22-04-2025

Manikarnika Films Pvt Ltd, a company owned by actor Kangana Ranaut's family, and streaming platform Netflix is being sued by senior journalist and author of the book The Emergency: A Personal History, Coomi Kapoor, for an alleged breach of contract and damaging her reputation.
Kapoor filed the lawsuit after she received no response to the legal notices she sent Ranaut's company and Netflix on April 3.
The film, Emergency, directed and co-produced by Kangana, has the actor in the role of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The film opens with the disclaimer that 'the film is inspired by the book The Emergency, and Priyadarshini by Jaiyanth Vasanth Sinha', apart from materials available in the public domain. However, at the end of the disclaimer on Netflix, it says the film is 'based on' the two books. Despite the legal notice to the production house, the disclaimer has not been modified on the Netflix platform. 'The damage caused to my reputation as a journalist and author is irretrievable,' says Kapoor, contributing editor, The Indian Express.
Kapoor's book, The Emergency, published by Penguin in 2015, is an account of her experiences and research of the turbulent 21 months since June 1975.
According to Kapoor, Kangana's brother, Aksht Ranaut, who represented Manikarnika Films Pvt Ltd, met her in Mumbai in 2021 and sought permission to buy the rights of her book for their film to draw from a chapter that dealt specifically with Indira Gandhi. Kapoor then signed a tripartite contract with Manikarnika Films and Penguin.
However, on her lawyer's advice she included two clauses, which said that while the producers have full artistic licence in making the film, nothing should be modified that was not in consonance with historical facts. The contract also stipulated that the author's name and the book should not be used for promoting the film without her prior approval.
Kapoor says she was never shown the film's script. Even before the film's production was completed, she sent Aksht two WhatsApp messages after he did not respond to her repeated phone calls.
Kapoor says she was travelling when the film was released in theatres (on January 17) and watched it for the first time when it released on Netflix (on March 17).
Among the people who complained to Kapoor about the inaccuracies in the film was Akbar Ahmad (Dumpy), a friend of late Sanjay Gandhi. In the film, Ahmad is shown as the person behind the ban on Kishore Kumar 's songs on All India Radio. Her book, says Kapoor, clearly mentions that it was then Information and Broadcasting Minister VC Shukla who was behind the ban.
The Indian Express contacted the Netflix India team, Manikarnika Films and Aksht for their reaction but they have yet to reply. The article will be updated when we receive their response.