Kangana Ranaut says Emergency can be compared with Nolan's Oppenheimer: ‘It is so much like Macbeth’

Kangana Ranaut plays former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in Emergency. The film releases in theatres on September 6.

Kangana Ranaut is busy promoting her upcoming film Emergency, in which she plays former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. In a new interview with India Today, the actor talked about the figure of Indira Gandhi, and whether we can compartmentalize her as 'good' or ‘bad.’ She said that a 'close comparison of her film can be made with Oppenheimer. (Also read: Kangana Ranaut lashes out at ‘zehrila’ Bollywood for not saying a word on Emergency: ‘Kaise chhup ke baithe hue hain’)

Kangana Ranaut in a still from Emergency (left); and Cillian Murphy in a still from Oppenheimer.

What Kangana said

When Kangana was asked about doing a film on such a ‘touchy topic’, the actor said, “I don't know why people are so uncomfortable with truth. As if it does not stand there glaring at us evidently, and so obviously. To me Ms. Gandhi is what she is and we cannot compartmentalize people as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. If you look from that perspective this film will open many doors for you but at the same time, a close comparison to draw with my film is maybe Oppenheimer.”

‘It is so much like Macbeth’

She went on to explain, “You can't really decide whether to root for him, whether he is getting manipulated or he is manipulative. But aren't all of us like that? Life is not so limited. It demands you to be so much and at times to be the person you don't want to be. That is why I call it a Shakespearean tragedy. It is so much like Macbeth. Macbeth was destined to be the king, and when he becomes the king by killing the king the dagger follows him. His conscience follows him… The idea of Emergency is that the best of us can become a victim of hubris.”

Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer is set during World War II, and follows physicist J Robert Oppenheimer (played by Cillian Murphy), known as the Father of the Atomic Bomb. It is set during a period in history when he feared that testing the atomic bomb would ignite the atmosphere and destroy the world, yet he pushed the button anyway. J Robert Oppenheimer helped invent nuclear weapons during World War II. The film won 7 Oscars earlier this year, including Best Picture, and Best Director.

Emergency releases in theatres on September 6.