Kangana Ranaut receives legal notice for 'distorting facts' in Emergency, author threatens to sue her for contract breach: 'If you fail to...'

Actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut’s controversial film Emergency has landed in trouble once again after senior journalist and author Coomi Kapoor accused her production house, Manikarnika Films Private Limited, and Netflix of "intentionally and maliciously distorting facts" and exploiting her name by claiming that the film is based on her book, The Emergency: A Personal History. Kapoor, whose book was published by Penguin in 2015, has claimed that the tripartite agreement signed between Manikarnika Films, Penguin and herself regarding the book's intellectual property rights for adaption into a feature film has been "blatantly breached." She has accused the makers of the film of "multiple factual inaccuracies and misleading portrayals of historical events."

"My daughter is a lawyer, so on her advice, I had included two clauses. While the producers had full artistic freedom to create the film, nothing should be altered that contradicts historical facts that are publicly available," Kapoor explained. "The contract also stated that the author's name and book could not be used for promoting or exploiting the film without prior written consent. I was in Goa and had not seen the film at the time, believing that they would honour the contract. But they are still claiming that the film is based on the book," she said, adding that she has already sent two legal notices, but received no response.

To buttress her point, Kapoor cited her August, 2023 WhatsApp exchange with Kangana Ranaut’s brother, Aksht Ranaut of Manikarnika Films, in which she repeatedly emphasised that the contract must be followed and that the phrase "based on her book" should not be used, though referencing the book in the sources section is acceptable. "Aksht replied and had agreed to these terms during the conversation," she said. The film Emergency, on Netflix includes a disclaimer, stating that it is "inspired by the books, The Emergency by Coomi Kapoor and Priyadarshani by Jaiyanth Vasant Shinde." However, toward the end, the disclaimer shifts tone, stating that the film is "based on the books, The Emergency by Coomi Kapoor and Priyadarshani by Jaiyanth Vasant Shinde", which Kapoor argues directly contradicts the terms of their agreement.

The author further pointed out that at the time of signing the agreement, she was told that only a specific chapter on former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from her book would be referenced for the film. However, she was surprised to find that the film's title closely mirrored that of her book. "This now appears to be a deliberate attempt on part of you to get traction for the said film, especially since it had been subject to uncomplimentary remarks," states a legal notice sent by Kapoor to the filmmakers. The author pointed out that the film contains numerous historical inaccuracies — far more than those detailed in the legal notice. Among those is a scene that shows Gandhi personally threatening the then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed into declaring the Emergency without consulting her Cabinet as well as a depiction suggesting that the Emergency ended when she announced the general election.

"Factually, the Emergency was not removed till after Mrs Indira Gandhi lost the general election in March 1977," the legal notice said. On June 25, 1975, Gandhi declared a state of Emergency in the country, suspending civil liberties, jailing opposition leaders and dissidents and effecting press censorship. The Emergency was lifted on March 21, 1977. Other distortions highlighted in the legal notice include the incorrect association of Jayaprakash Narayan's 1974 Total Revolution Movement with Gandhi's 1972 Shimla Agreement as well as inaccurate portrayals of the arrest and imprisonment of political leaders during the Emergency.

PTI attempted to contact Kangana Ranaut's sister and manager, Rangoli Chandel, for a comment, but she was unavailable. Aksht Ranaut though, according to Kapoor, did reach out to her over the phone after the media reported the issue. "Yes, he (Aksht) called. I told him 'you were never available all this while.' He asked me, 'What would you like?'. I told him I will talk to my lawyer," Kapoor said.

However, according to the notice, Kapoor has demanded immediate compensation for the severe reputational, professional, emotional and financial damage suffered by her due to the filmmakers' reckless and illegal conduct. "If you fail to comply, our client reserves the right to initiate legal proceedings to seek appropriate remedies for this egregious violation of her rights,” the notice said.

Emergency, which was also directed and produced by Kangana Ranaut, had earlier courted controversy over its censor certificate and allegations that it misrepresented the Sikh community. It was not screened at cinema halls in Punjab after protests by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and other Sikh organisations.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI

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