When Gulzar’s 1975 film Aandhi was banned for this peculiar reason

Most people in current generation know Gulzar as the legendary lyricist, the wordsmith responsible for classics like Chaiyya Chaiyya, Kajra Re and Beedi Jalai Le. However, very few film-goers today are aware of Gulzar’s extensive work as a filmmaker. Gulzar made several films in the 1970s and 1980s, mostly about poignant human relationships. However, the filmmaker touched upon political subjects once in a while. One of those films happened in 1975.

Aandhi releases in February 1975

While Aandhi was a relationship drama on the surface, a story about two estranged lovers who meet several years later under strange circumstances, it also had an element of social commentary. The film’s female protagonist Aarti (Suchitra Sen) was a young woman with political aspirations who is forced to abandon her lover (played by Sanjeev Kumar), and emerges as a major political figure in the following years. Aandhi hit the theatres in 1975 in February 1975, and achieved great success at the box office, running for 20 weeks to full houses. 

However, there was a female Prime Minister in the office in the form of Indira Gandhi. And when Aandhi was watched by some political figures, many people suspected the female protagonist’s character was a reference to Indira Gandhi. Co-incidentally, it was also a time of national emergency.

So after 20 weeks of having a successful run in the theatres, Aandhi was banned from public exhibition for alleged defamation of the then-prime minister. This film was banned on the alleged grounds of violation of the Model Election Code of Conduct, claiming it can cause damage to the reputation of the political party in ruling power. 

Aandhi re-released only in 1977

It was not until the Emergency was called off, and another political party came into power that the ban on Aandhi was called off. Even for the re-release, the makers of Aandhi were asked to trim down scenes of the protagonist smoking and drinking, and add a brief sequence where the protagonist is shown talking about her political ambitions while looking at a portrait of Indira Gandhi, to avoid any confusion about the character being based on Gandhi.

Even though Aandhi continues to be remembered one of the greatest Hindi films of that era, film’s leading actress Suchitra Sen never worked in Hindi films again.