Kangana Ranaut admits choosing a theatrical release for Emergency was a mistake: 'I could have gotten a better deal on OTT'

After a series of controversies and delays, Kangana Ranaut’s ambitious project Emergency is finally set to release on January 17. The film marks Kangana’s return to the screen after over a year and also her directorial debut. However, the journey has been far from smooth, with the project facing censorship challenges and introspection from the filmmaker herself.
In a recent interview with News18, Kangana candidly admitted that choosing a theatrical release instead of a direct-to-OTT premiere might have been a mistake. “I was scared,” she revealed when asked about the film’s prolonged delay. “I felt that it was a wrong decision to release it in theatres. I thought I could have gotten a better deal on OTT. I also wouldn’t have had to go through censorship then and my film wouldn’t have been dissected. I didn’t know what all they (the CBFC) would remove and let us keep.”
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), operating under the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting led by Ashwini Vaishnaw, played a key role in scrutinizing the film. Kangana acknowledged the challenges she faced, adding, “There was a despair, but we fought it. We submitted all the documents after facing scrutiny on even small things. A lot of historians and people from various provinces and communities took a look at it, and they did not find anything offensive. They also admitted that the movie is stalled illegally. But we have a lot of respect for government bodies and we cooperated with them fully.”

Reflecting on her decision to helm the project, Kangana said, “I felt that I made the wrong choices on many levels: firstly, wanting to direct this film. I took it for granted that even though we don’t have a Congress government… I previously talked about the movie Kissa Kursi Ka. Nobody has seen that film to date and back then, they burnt all the prints. Also, nobody made films about Mrs Gandhi. Upon watching Emergency, today’s generation will be surprised to think how she became like that; after all, she became PM three times. I underestimated things and thought that I would be able to get away by making a film on Emergency.”

Emergency stars an ensemble cast including Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Ashok Chhabra, Mahima Chaudhry, Milind Soman, Vishak Nair, and the late Satish Kaushik in pivotal roles.
The film’s release is a critical moment for Kangana, whose last film, Tejas (2023), was a box-office failure. With no major success in the past five years, Emergency carries high stakes for the actor-director as she hopes to make a strong comeback.