Indu Sarkar is at best an average movie. It’s the cinematic equivalent to one of those training manuals…think The Emergency for Dummies.

Indu Sarkar is set during the Emergency, and shows us the horrific violation of freedom put into motion by then prime minister Indira Gandhi, aided and abetted by her younger son Sanjay.

Madhur Bhandarkar’s latest film starring Kriti Kulhari and Neil Nitin Mukesh has a confused narrative and melodrama that dethrones the attempt to champion the cause of democracy.

Indu Sarkar opens with the declaration of Emergency but its true beginning-point is a disclaimer proclaiming it as a work of fiction bearing nothing more than a chance resemblance to people, places, and events.

I found that disclaimer to be less of a mandatory insert and more an apology for the film’s artlessness.

Two words: Skip this. And if at all you muster up the courage to watch Indu Sarkar, keep a mug of VERY strong coffee handy. You might doze off several times while the Emergency plays out in front of you.

INDU SARKAR if done by a new comer would have been called as a better attempt but we expected some tight comment from Madhur who gave us CHANDINI BAR, PAGE 3, FASHION and the underrated SATTA.

Indu Sarkar is the name of the lead character in this film; Sarkar, being her Bengali husband’s last name. That play of words is by far the only thing clever about this blatantly political propaganda picture.

To say that Indu Sarkar is better than Heroine and Calendar Girls is hardly a compliment to the man who made Chandni Bar and Page 3.

Set during the emergency, a dark period in recent Indian politics, this is the story of an orphan who has a speech impediment. The film wanders directionless, starting out as a propaganda film showing the Congress as evil, then not knowing where to take the rebellion. Pointless exercise.

‘Indu Sarkar’ is like a hard-hitting tale which reveals the horror witnessed in the mid 70’s era.

For its 139-minute duration, the film seems stretched. The narrative is reiterated in the last act, making the viewing a tedious fare.

Despite all its shortcomings, I didn’t mind the subject approached. Better getting excited about a film on the subject and being disappointed than not to have a film on the subject at all.