Indira Gandhi 35th Death Anniversary: Indu Sarkar, Amu, 31st October And Other Films On The Life Of The Former PM

Late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, daughter of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was India’s first female Prime Minister. Till date, Indira Gandhi has also been the only female Prime Minister of India. It is Indira Gandhi’s 35th death anniversary today. The late prime minister had served as the Prime Minister of India from January 1966 to March 1977 and again from January 1980 until her assassination in 1984. The formidable Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her bodyguards at her residence on October 31, 1984. The assassination took place months after she launched Operation Bluestar

Indira Gandhi’s contribution to politics was immense, however, she was criticized by many for declaring an Emergency in India in the year 1975 for 21 months. Her life and her term as the Prime Minister has inspired several Bollywood movies, the more popular one being Madhur Bhandarkar’s 2017 film Indu Sarkar. Today, on the 35th death anniversary of Indira Gandhi, we bring you Bollywood movies that revolve around the female political leader and her family that you must watch to delve deeper into her life and the events that took place.

Indu Sarkar: This film by Madhur Bhandarkar released in 2017 and is based around the Emergency Era in India. It stars Kirti Kulhari, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Anupam Kher, Tota Roy Chowdhury and Supriya Vinod. Political films are often embroiled in controversies and this one was no different. There were protests about the movie even before it had released and Madhur Bhandarkar even received a death threat.

31st October: This 2016 film stars Soha Ali Khan and Vir Das in the lead roles and revolves around the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and its consequences. This historical action drama film was directed by Shivaji Lotan Patil and is based on a true story, and shows the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination.

Madras Café: This film from 2013 stars John Abraham, Nargis Fakhri, Rashi Khanna, Siddharth Basu and Prakash Belawadi in lead roles. While it isn’t based on Indira Gandhi, it revolves around her elder son Rajiv Gandhi and his assassination. The film was directed by Shoojit Sircar.

Amu: Amu, starring Konkona Sen Sharma, Brinda Karat and Ankur Khanna released in 2005 and it is also based on the anti-Sikh riots that took place in India. Interestingly, it is based on director Shonali Bose’s own novel, which is also titled Amu.

Apart from these, there are also very old movies such as Kissa Kursi Ka (1997) and Aandhi (1975) that revolved around politics and Indira Gandhi. Kissa Kursi Ka stars Shabana Azmi, Utpal Dutt and Raj Babbar in lead roles, and was banned by the government during the Emergency era.