Sanjay Gandhi, surrounded by the public while he is coming out of the Tiz Hazari Court regarding the “Kissa kursi ka” case, in New Delhi on August 27, 1977
(file photo)
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N_SRINIVASAN
Kissa Kursi Ka is a poignant reminder of the Emergency. Entering the 50th year of one of the key historic moments of Indian history, Kissa Kursi Ka highlights what Indian politics is. A former colleague forwarded the link to the much-sought-after movie, and there is no doubt that it is relevant even today. Personally, this should be rated among the top political satire movies, along with Cho Ramaswamy’s Tamil classic, Mohammed bin Tughlaq, in Indian cinema.
Kissa Kursi Ka has no great cast, but director Amrit Nahata has relied on his screenplay and, most importantly, dialogue. One of the most telling images of the movie is a speech-challenged “Janata”, or the public, portrayed by Shabana Azmi. Throughout the movie, Azmi dons almost the same costume — a tell-tale reminder that nothing changed for the common man.
Manohar Singh as President Gangaram is the hero and his portrayal of an economically downtrodden guy becoming the president probably reminds us how some politicians in the country have reached the top slot. At the start itself, the movie refers to “Sanjay” and “small car”. Gangaram’s first slogan is “Garibi Hatao”- all gentle reminders of what these were.
Towards the end, we have scenes where Gangaram’s election is held invalid by the court, and he declares an emergency. These are signs of why the movie was banned, and its negatives burned. It was remade and had to undergo several cuts at the hands of the Censor Board.
In one scene, a police official tells “Janata”, you have no right to laugh or rejoice, but there is no ban on you from crying. And when Janata’s honour is plundered by the President’s right-hand man, Deshpal, and questioned by Gangaram, he tells him: “I have done only what you have been doing all these days!”
Is Nahata telling us that the 1971 war with Pakistan was stage-managed? Is Utpal Dutt’s character telling us something? Watch it if you can, and never forget the eight conditions of the Kursi!
Published on July 2, 2025