Mahima Chaudhry to essay Pupul Jayakar, Indira Gandhi’s confidante, in Emergency

Mahima Chaudhry has joined the cast of Kangana Ranaut's Emergency. She will essay the role of author Pupul Jayakar, who was Indira Gandhi's close friend and also penned a biography on the late prime minister. 

Kangana portrays Indira Gandhi in Emergency. The other notable characters include Anupam Kher as the revolutionary leader J P Narayan and Shreyas Talpade as Atal Bihari Vajpayee. 

Talking about Mahima's character, director-star Kangana Ranaut said, “Pupul Jayakar was an author, a very close friend of Mrs Gandhi and has also written her autobiography. Mrs Gandhi confided in her about everything. If there is one thread that runs through the film and connects the audiences to the inner world of Mrs Gandhi, then it’s the character of Pupul Jayakar.

Even though the film is a first-person account, it is not a film where somebody is the narrator. Mrs Gandhi’s interactions with Pupul are the most soulful. They shed light on how she confided her deepest darkest secrets to Pupul Jayakar. This makes her character an important person in the film called Emergency.”

Mahima, who's returning to films after successfully beating cancer, shared, “Working with Kangana is an experience because she wears so many hats with such great ease. She is playing such an important political character, Mrs Indira Gandhi. She is directing it herself and producing it. I get a lot of strength looking at her and the way she functions. Pupul Jayakar was Mrs Indira Gandhi’s childhood friend so my scenes are the ones where you get to see the non-political side of this great statesman and controversial political leader during the time of Emergency. They are very open and honest with each other. You see a very different side of Mrs Gandhi. It’s very interesting to play this character and it’s been a wonderful experience working on this.”

Emergency is produced by Renu Pitti and Kangana Ranaut. The screenplay and dialogue are by Ritesh Shah.