Amritsar-The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) held protests outside Punjab cinemas against the release of Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency, which resulted in the film not being released in most places in the state. The Bollywood star said the Sikh body’s demand for a ban on Emergency and the film’s restricted screenings in parts of Punjab was complete harassment of “art and the artiste”.The film, which has Ranaut playing former prime minister Indira Gandhi, focuses on the 21 months of Emergency from 1975 to 1977. The political drama, amid controversy over its censor certificate and allegations that it misrepresents the Sikh community, was released across the country on Friday after several delays. Many cinemas in Ludhiana, Amritsar, Patiala and Bathinda did not screen the movie. Police were deployed outside malls and cinemas in the state.In Amritsar, protesters carried black flags and placards saying “Emergency should be banned” and “Boycott Emergency movie.”On Thursday, SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami wrote to Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann demanding a ban on the movie.If the film is released in Punjab, it would spark “outrage and anger” in the Sikh community and therefore it is the responsibility of the government to ban its release in the state, he wrote.