Indira Gandhi was a very powerful leader, but Emergency is inappreciable: Actor Milind Soman

Bengaluru: Actor Milind Soman, who is essaying Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw's role in the upcoming film "Emergency", said on Monday that late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was a very strong and powerful leader but the state of Emergency imposed in the country during her rule cannot be appreciated.

"Emergency is something that nobody appreciated. Of course, we want a more equitable way of doing things in the future, but I think that Mrs Gandhi was a very strong, very powerful leader. She was one of the first woman state leaders.

"So, I think it was an amazing period and a learning experience for India," he told UNI in an interview.

He was in the city to participate in the third edition of the multi-city "Green Ride" to spread the message of a healthy and pollution-free environment.

Milind is playing the role of Field Marshal Manekshaw in the directorial venture of actor Kangana Ranaut's Emergency.

Kangana plays the lead role of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The film also features Shreyas Talpade who plays late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Anupam Kher and Mahima Chaudhry are playing revolutionary leader JP Narayan and cultural activist and Indira Gandhi's confidante Pupul Jayakar.

Asked to summarise Indira Gandhi's leadership, Milind said people will have an opinion about the Emergency, but all leaders have good and bad factors in their lives, but it is a learning experience for the leadership of the country to avoid such situations in the future.

"I think, like all leaders there are some good things and some bad things attached to them. People will always have opinions about that (Emergency), but everything is a learning experience even for the leadership of our country and for the people. People go through certain experiences in the relationship with the citizens and the leaders, and they know what to expect, what to ask for, and what to demand so that the country can go in a better direction in the future," he said.

"Emergency" is billed as the story of a watershed moment in the political history of India, and has been written and directed by Kangana. Ritesh Shah has written the screenplay and dialogues of the film.

A Manikarnika Films presentation, Emergency is produced by Renu Pitti and Kangana. This marks Kangana's first solo directorial.

Emergency in India was a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977 when PM Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country. On the advice of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed proclaimed a state of national emergency on 25 June 1975. (UNI)