‘The hero of my film is Mr Jayprakash Narayan,’ Kangana Ranaut had told Anupam Kher when she offered him ‘Emergency’. Kher talked to us about portraying the political leader, being directed by Kangana and what keeps him going even after acting in more than 540 films.

What was your reaction when you offered the role of Jayprakash Narayan in ‘Emergency’?

Anupam Kher: Kangana Ranaut sent me the script. She also sent me the list of people involved in the film. She had an Oscar nominee as the director of photography. She got an Oscar winner to do the makeup and prosthetics. The most important was the script she sent. It had a lot of depth. She also said, ‘The hero of my film is Mr Jayprakash Narayan’, because Jayprakash Narayan spearheaded the movement against the Emergency. And she stuck to what she said.

Kangana is phenomenal as a director. I watched the film in Nagpur, and I can say that you rarely see a performance like hers as Indira Gandhi. It’s a balanced film. Of course, it shows a dark phase of our democracy but it is also a biopic on Mrs Indira Gandhi.

This is not the first time you played a real-life political leader. How different was your approach this time?

Anupam Kher: Dr Manmohan Singh was a very well-viewed prime minister and political persona. Everybody knew him, so I had to work a lot on the physicality of the character when I portrayed him (in ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’). I feel that Jayprakash Narayan was more of a leader than a politician. Of course, political circles knew his importance, so I needed to get his spirit right. There are certain roles for which you need to get into the internalisation of a character, what kind of a person he came across as. That’s what I worked on.

Kangana and her research team provided me with a lot of documentation, documentaries and videos. I also did my research. I had to be within the frame of the film, and I think that’s what comes across in ‘Emergency’.

What kind of a man did you discover Jayprakash Narayan to be through this process?

Anupam Kher: What’s great about national leaders is their conviction in what they think seems right for the nation and do to correct the wrong that’s happening in the country. Emergency happened for almost two years, which was horrifying. I was in drama school in 1975 when the Emergency was imposed. Personally, the strength of these leaders is important. The role that Gandhiji and other leaders played pre-Independence, Jayprakash Narayan played an equally important role during the dark era of the Emergency. The world should know more about this.

When you watch the film, you’ll come to know about what Jayprakash Narayan’s contribution to the common man’s life in India was. That’s why he was called Loknayak. You’ll also get to know what other leaders such as Atal Bihari Vajpayeeji were like. Today’s generation does not know that in independent India, there was a phase where all rights of the common man were taken away by their own government.

Did you use anything from your memories of the Emergency period?

Anupam Kher: It was my first year in drama school. I was not politically aware at that time but I knew that newspapers were banned. I became aware of the severity of dictatorship when Kishore Kumar’s songs were banned from All India Radio. That was a jolt for a person like me who was into arts and entertainment. Seeing my favourite singer banned was very frightening.

What was your actor-actor and actor-director process with Kangana Ranaut like?

Anupam Kher: ‘Emergency’ is a one-woman show and I am very proud of that. Kangana is a fine director and she called all the shots. We had scenes together. Because she was decked up as Indira Gandhi, at times it was weird when she would come and tell me the nuances she wanted in a scene. I was trying to find Kangana in her. That’s what happens in the film too. After 10 minutes, you forget that it’s an actress performing a role. She was fully prepared. Cinema is respected when all the departments are first-rate. And Kangana had hired a first-grade cast and crew. I think she is fantastic and a powerful example of women’s empowerment.

What about Kangana stands out as a director?

Anupam Kher: I have done more than 540 films in my 40-year career. I feel that I know everything when I go on a set, not out of arrogance but because I know my job after having worked for many years and researching the character that I would be playing. But when your director comes and whispers in your ears that maybe you can try something differently, that’s when your respect for the director goes up. A good director can whisper a thing or two in your ears and it could change the colour of your performance.

How do you define the film’s relevance or importance in today’s India?

Anupam Kher: First of all, it’s pure cinema. We should not watch it from the point of view that it’s a political drama or issue. It’s cinema but also gives you information about post-Independence India and the Emergency. It also talks about the 1971 war and victory over Pakistan and the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers. Also, it’s a relationship between a father and a daughter (Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi). It’s about a political upheaval. It’s an amalgamation of all these things.

After more than 540 films as an actor, what still keeps you going?

Anupam Kher: I am a very fortunate actor who has got different kinds of roles. Now, it’s also about what I give to the role. My competition is with myself. The more you grow in years and if you’re aware of what’s happening around you, your knowledge keeps growing. My last two releases were The Signature and Vijay 69.

The Signature was about a man whose wife was about to die and Vijay 69 was about a man wanting to compete in a triathlon. I could be sitting on my laurels, content already. But I am lucky to be in a profession where there’s no limit to exploiting emotions and wanting to do various things. I have to keep finding ways to stay relevant, and I have to keep reinventing myself as an actor and a person.

What are we going to see you in next?

Anupam Kher: Anurag Basu’s Metro… Inn Dino is very exciting. I have an interesting role in it. I have just finished Vikram Bhatt’s film Tumko Meri Kasam, which is a biopic on Ajay Modia, the IVF man of India. Then, of course, my directorial Tanvi: The Great is something that I’m excited about.