Madhur Bhandarkar's Indu Sarkar completely misses the mark

Madhur Bhandarkar's controversial drama is purportedly based on the period of Emergency

Indu Sarkar begins abruptly and mundanely with a montage of newspaper headlines, which announce the imposition of Emergency in India, and takes viewers into the thick of its atrocities. More than the “how” or “why”, filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar focuses mainly on the “what” of the period that lasted for 19 months, from 1975 to 1977.

“Sarkaarein challenge se nahi, chabook se chalti hain (governments can’t work with challenges, they rely on force).” This type of harsh dealing is true of the film’s treatment, too. Rather than nuanced, its conflicts are grinding, its characters rarely subtle, and metaphors at times clunky.