Shreyas Talpade says "Emergency" by actor-filmmaker Kangana Ranaut is a fantastic film and he is happy that the movie has been cleared for release by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
The political drama, written, directed, and co-produced by Ranaut, was earlier scheduled to be released on September 6 but missed the date as it failed to get a clearance from the CBFC.
It was also caught up in controversy after Sikh organisations, including the Shiromani Akali Dal, accused the film of misrepresenting the community and getting facts wrong.
“I’m very happy for ‘Emergency’ that finally we got clearance because it’s a good film being made on a good subject. Kangana has made the film with a lot of hard work and passion and the film should come out," Talpade told PTI in an interview.
"It’s difficult for the producers to think, ‘Forget all that has happened’ because they faced financial loss. I’m passionately looking forward to the film getting released and watching it because it is a fantastic film,” he added.
Also starring Ranaut as former prime minister Indira Gandhi, “Emergency” delves into the emergency that was imposed by her for 21 months from 1975 to 1977 and its aftermath.
Talpade plays the role of the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the film, which will now release in theatres on January 17.
For the actor, “Emergency” turned out to be a rare opportunity where he got to showcase his versatility. He recalled being stereotyped by the industry during the earlier years of his career.
"I was launched with a film like ‘Iqbal’ and when the era of comedy and multi-starrer films started at that time, I was not cast in them. I was told said, ‘You’ve a serious image because of ‘Iqbal’, so we are not sure if people will accept you in comedy roles or will you be able to do it or not.' "Luckily, ‘Golmaal’ happened and things changed for me. Today, after a spate of comedy films people are like, ‘Will I be able to do a serious role or not’,” said Talpade, who has also been part of movies like “Dor", “Om Shanti Om”, “Welcome to Sajjanpur”, “Housefull 2”, and “Chandu Champion”.
Talpade's latest work is the animated film “Mufasa: The Lion King". The actor has lent his voice to the fan-favourite character of Timon for the Hindi-version of the movie.
The film, directed by Barry Jenkins, serves as both a prequel and sequel to the "The Lion King", the 2019 remake of the 1994 animated movie. It explores the journey of Mufasa from an orphaned cub to becoming a king.
“What is most important is what we are teaching kids through this film. Like, a story like this will always stay relevant, the story of the triumph of the underdog, so all the kids will feel, ‘Even I can achieve whatever I want despite all the obstacles’,” he said.
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has voiced the title role of Mufasa in the Hindi version along with his son Aryan Khan lending his voice as Simba and youngest son AbRam Khan as Mufasa (cub).
“Mufasa: The Lion King” released in theatres on Friday.
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