It was a common notion during the time that the 1975 Hindi film, ‘Aandhi’, which was directed by celebrated writer, director and lyricist, Gulzar, was modelled on the life of Congress politician and two-term Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.
Although Gulzar denies any similarities between the film’s lead character, Aarti Devi, and Gandhi, apart from what can be seen on screen as references from the late prime minister’s personality traits and mannerisms, the film got banned when Emergency was declared. It would be one of many films that faced a clampdown during the infamous ‘black days’ of freedom in the country.
‘Aandhi’ had seen a theatrical release in February. On June 25, 1975, Indira Gandhi, who was India’s Prime Minister then, declared Emergency. The film, which had been running in theatres for over 20 weeks at the time, was soon banned.
Author Saba Mahmood Bashir penned a book in 2019 that was titled, ‘Gulzar’s Aandhi: Insights into the Film’, which not only carried the filmmaker’s interview on the ban but also shed light on the controversy that engulfed the movie during a tumultuous time in India’s political history.
“He learnt that he would have to pull out of the show as the film had been banned in India. To be sure, it was a film magazine that had published a feature on 'Aandhi', with the headline, ‘See your Prime Minister on screen’,” Bashir writes in the book.
Excerpts from Gulzar’s interview reflected the team’s efforts to get the ban uplifted. "Sanjeev was also there with me. After we got back, J Om Prakashji (film's producer) tried very hard to have the ban lifted. We were already in the twenty-fourth week, so we decided to modify two scenes.”
Set against the backdrop of elections, ‘Aandhi’ is a love story between Aarti Devi, played by Suchitra Sen, and a hotel manager, played by Sanjeev Kumar. The two are shown to reconnect years after being estranged. By the time they meet again, Devi has become a politician.
The stark similarities between the storyline and Indira Gandhi’s real life, including the white streak of hair, Aarti Devi’s attire, and walk, weren’t lost on anyone.
In the book, Bashir wrote that it was baseless to debate whether ‘Aandhi’ has been modelled on the life of Indira Gandhi, but the similarities between the real and reel characters were quite striking.
"Both Aarti Devi and Mrs Gandhi had an estranged marriage. If stones were pelted at Aarti Devi at a rally, they were also pelted at Mrs Gandhi in 1967 at a rally near Bhubaneswar, Orissa. It is this coincidence about the estranged marriage, and the fact that Feroze Gandhi too ran a hotel in Allahabad that led the critics and viewers to connect the dots and begin to believe that 'Aandhi' was the story of Indira Gandhi," she wrote.
While Gulzar maintains Gandhi’s traits were used “in good taste”, he says it were the advertisements and posters for the film that added fuel to the fire.
“The opposition parties remarked that Aarti Devi’s character is shown to consume alcohol, and some decided to connect the two unrelated personalities," Gulzar said.
I&B ministry, which was headed by IK Gujral at the time, and had found nothing objectionable in the movie when it was released in February, later insisted some changes are made. One of the new scenes that were incorporated featured Aarti Devi looking at a portrait of Indira Gandhi and calling her a "role model".
"They made us add that bit. They insisted. By then the movie was running in its twenty-third or twenty-fourth week," said Gulzar.
When the filmmaker visited Moscow at a later time, he met Gujral, who was serving as the Indian ambassador to the Soviet Union.
"Gujral sahib told me that it was Sanjay (Gandhi) who had not taken the controversy well. Otherwise, there was no objection from the others. I remember my reply too, that it was just one of those things which happens in a democracy."
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