Nasbandi (1978) Directed by actor writer filmmaker I. S. Johar, it is a political satire that critiques the controversial mass sterilisation campaign implemented during the Emergency (1975–1977) under the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, particularly the coercive family planning measures associated with Sanjay Gandhi. Released on 21 January 1978, shortly after the Emergency ended and the Janata Party came to power, the film employed humour, parody, and political satire to expose the excesses of the state's compulsory sterilisation programme.
One of the film's most distinctive features is its use of look-alike performers impersonating some of the era's biggest Bollywood stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Manoj Kumar, and Rajesh Khanna. Rather than featuring the original actors, Johar cast professional doubles, enabling the film to parody mainstream Hindi cinema while simultaneously commenting on the pervasive reach of state power during the Emergency. The narrative revolves around characters who are obsessively engaged in locating individuals to fulfil sterilisation quotas, thereby satirising the bureaucratic zeal, coercion, and absurdity that characterised the implementation of the family planning campaign.
Although Nasbandi was released in the relatively liberal political atmosphere that followed the lifting of the Emergency, it soon faced official censorship and was banned because of its explicit criticism of the Indira Gandhi government and its depiction of the compulsory sterilisation programme. The ban reflected the continuing political sensitivity surrounding representations of the Emergency and demonstrated the enduring tensions between cinematic expression and state authority in post-Emergency India. As a result, Nasbandi occupies a significant place in the history of Indian political cinema as one of the earliest and most direct satirical responses to the Emergency.
The film's soundtrack further reinforces its satirical intent through songs that employ irony, parody, and dark humour to ridicule the sterilisation campaign and the political climate of the period. Songs such as Kiski Chali Hai Kahe Gaye Baat Ye Pyare Jhulelalan, Jaan Bachao, Khair Manao, Lagega Sab Ka Number, Prabhuji De Do Ik Santaan and Kya Mil Gaya Bhagwan, Emergency Lagake, Nasbandi Karake Hamari Chhutti Karake mock the coercive nature of the government's family planning policies and articulate popular anxieties surrounding state intervention in private life. Through these musical sequences, Johar transformed familiar conventions of Bollywood entertainment into powerful instruments of political critique, using comedy to expose the human consequences of an authoritarian administration.
Today, Nasbandi is regarded as an important example of political satire in Indian cinema. Its combination of parody, popular culture, and pointed political commentary illustrates how the film functioned as a medium of resistance and public memory, documenting the social and political trauma of the Emergency while challenging official narratives through humour and satire.