Apart from Kangana Rananut’s film Emergency, Vidya Balan’s series based on former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi was also shelved.
Kangana Ranaut’s film Emergency, which was initially scheduled to hit the big screens on September 6, 2024, has been postponed due to the controversies surrounding it. Interestingly, it’s not just Kangana’s film that has faced a delay; Vidya Balan’s series based on Indira Gandhi is also awaiting a green light.
Vidya Balan had acquired the rights to journalist Sagarika Ghose’s 2017 book Indira: India’s Most Powerful Prime Minister. Vidya expressed that portraying Indira Gandhi on screen had been a long-held dream. The project was set to be produced by her husband, Siddharth Roy Kapur, under his banner, Roy Kapur Films.
In an interview with Firstpost, Vidya discussed the project’s progress. “The Indira Gandhi web series is taking longer than I wish. They’re rewriting the script to suit the web format and will soon present me with the final version. Web is a different ballgame, so it takes more time,” she said.
She further added, “I was offered the role five years ago by multiple people. But I told them, as long as you don’t get the requisite permissions, I can’t do the film. But it’s much easier on the web.”
Did You Know Vidya Balan Was Offered Thalaivi?
In the same interview, Vidya revealed why she turned down the opportunity to play former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa in Thalaivi. She explained that since she was already preparing to portray Indira Gandhi, she didn’t want to take on two political roles of similar age in close succession.
Despite this, Kangana went on to portray both Jayalalithaa in Thalaivi (2021) and Indira Gandhi in Emergency. Emergency is co-produced by Zee Studios and Kangana’s own production company, Manikarnika Films.
