Vishak Nair to play Sanjay Gandhi in Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency

The latest actor to join Kangana Ranaut's upcoming film Emergency (2023) is Vishak Nair. He will essay the role of Indira Gandhi’s son and political scion, Sanjay Gandhi. Ranaut shared the news on Instagram, writing that Sanjay was “the soul of India…the man she loved and lost”.

Based on the state of emergency declared across India by Indira Gandhi for 21 months between 1975 and 1977, the film is garnering a lot of attention.

It marks Ranaut’s second directorial venture after the historical Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi (2019) based on the life of Rani Laxmibai. The ensemble cast of the film has been revealed bit by bit, with Ranaut revealing her look as Indira Gandhi, along with a first look teaser of the film.

Subsequently, stars like Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Mahima Chaudhry, Milind Soman were also named as cast members, with their look carefully fashioned on the historical figures whom they portray. 

Chaudhry plays author-activist Pupul Jayakar, who was also former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s close confidante. Shreyas Talpade will be playing former prime minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Anupam Kher will take on the role of activist and politician Jayaprakash Narayan aka JP Narayan, while Milind Soman will essay the character of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.

Talking about the character of Sanjay Gandhi and Nair, Ranaut said, “Sanjay was one of the most crucial people in Mrs Gandhi's life. For this I needed someone who can play a man with his innocence intact but who is also shrewd at the same time. He is equally competent and equally passionate. The man needed many shades and [who] can play a whole spectrum of emotions.”

She added, “Sanjay is an extension of his mother. I looked for a face for more than six months and I decided to launch him [Nair] as the face. I am glad that after Avneet, I am launching a new face in a very big scale film. Vishak is a tremendous actor and has done a slew of Malayalam movies. This is his first Hindi film and I am certain he will do great justice to Sanjay's character.” 

Vishak Nair spoke about his experience of working on the film, saying, “It has been an incredible experience working on the film. Especially with Kangana ma’am. It’s been unlike I have ever been a part of in my career. I play a historically significant and enigmatic individual and I am truly grateful for the opportunity to be part of such an incredible film. Working with Kangana ma’am has been an absolute joy and a fantastic learning experience as well. It’s been quite something to work with such accomplished artists. I can flex my acting muscles and I have not had the opportunity as an actor to push myself in such a role.”

Presented by Manikarnika Films, Emergency is written and directed by Kangana Ranaut. The film is produced by Renu Pitti and Kangana Ranaut. The screenplay and dialogues are by Ritesh Shah.