The movie was not allowed a full proper release when Mrs. Gandhi was in power. The film was banned during the national emergency of 1975 a few months after its release. This film was banned on the alleged grounds of violation of the Model Election Code of Conduct, claiming it can cause damage to the reputation of the Congress party. So Election Commission stopped the film from releasing. The ban got further added with the declaration of National Emergency. The ban immediately made the film a national topic. After her defeat in the 1977 national elections, the ruling Janata Party cleared it and had it premiered on the state-run television channel. It proved to be an important film in the career of Sen, and also her last Hindi film, as she retired from films altogether in 1978. At the 23rd Filmfare Awards, she was nominated for Filmfare Best Actress Award, while Sanjeev Kumar won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. The film itself won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie.