5 Bollywood Political Dramas That Courted Major Controversies Before Release

 Political dramas have always garnered a lot of controversies. Latest project, Indu Sarkar, a film on the Emergency, depicting the under then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, has come under severe criticism from the Congress.

Though the makers say, that it was important to tell the generation about the emergency. The film will get a green signal for release or not, we don’t know but we do know that India has a long history of political dramas that created controversies.

Raajneeti

The  multi starrer film, faced a lot of controversies pre release. It faced allegations by a script writer Yogendra Konkar, who stated that the script of the movie is similar to a script written by him.The controversy saga continued as some of the Congress Party workers accused that the role portrayed by Katrina Kaif in Rajneeti, is based on their leader Sonia Gandhi and the film tries to defame her.

Madras Cafe

Source: scoopwhoop

John Abraham and Nargis Fakhri starrer this political drama faced a lot of controversies. This movie revolved around the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and the Indian intervention in the Sri-lankan civil war. There were several Tamil groups who demanded a ban on the movie.

Amu

Source: avclub.com

You may not have heard about this one, directed by Shonali Bose, the movie which featured immensely talented Konkana Sen, revolved around the 1984 riots of India where thousands of Sikhs were massacred. The movie faced the wrath of censor board in India and was also ineligible to be telecast on the television.

Aarakshan

Source: firstpost.com

This film touched the sensitive nerves of some people when it portrayed the  caste based reservation system in India. As a result, the movie was banned in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh before its release. The ban from Uttar Pradesh was later lifted by the Supreme Court.

 Aandhi

Source: youtube.com

Saneej Kapoor and Suchitra Sen was banned before the release, as the political leaders claimed the role was based on Indira Gandhi’s life, and the makers are trying to defame her. The actress was seen smoking and drinking in the film. It was banned when Indira Gandhi was in power. However later, BJP came into power and lifted the ban from the movie.  It was also aired on Doordarshan and was appreciated by the audience a lot. Even the song “Tere Bina Zindagi se” was also a success. 

 These film certainly started a huge debate not just before release but also after release. Only time will tell how Madhur Bhandarkar's upcoming Indu Sarkar will takle the bold subject it has taken up!