In today’s times, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is one of the few names in Hindi Cinema whom you can completely rely on to produce quality entertainment. And, with his much awaited film ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ starring Alia Bhatt in the lead role, he once again won the hearts of cinema lovers adding another feather to his cap. ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ which is based on S. Hussain Zaidi’s novel ‘Mafia Queens Of Mumbai’ is a story about transformation of young and naive Ganga Harjivandas to bold and fearless Gangubai.
Alia Bhatt plays Ganga, the daughter of a barrister who eloped from her home with her lover Ramnik (Varun Kapoor) to become a bollywood superstar. But was forced into the world of prostitution by her own lover who sold her over thousand rupees to Sheila maasi (Seema Pahwa), the heartless brothel madam.
Ganga initially protests but later gives up and gets into the business of selling skin and from here starts the journey of Gangu. How the innocent Ganga who just wanted to share screen with Dev Anand becomes rebellious Gangubai and fights for the rights of so many women like her is the crux of the movie.
Her journey to this change wasn’t a cake walk as she faced a number of challenges. Be it her fight with Raziabai (Vijay Raaz), a transgender who was president of Kamathipura for years or the 40 years old school in the area which wanted brothels to be demolished. With enough support from Rahim Lala (Ajay Devgan) and a journalist turned Gangubai’s well wisher Saifi (Jim Sarbh) she managed to raise her demands to the Prime Minister and rather than giving up to her fate she rose above it to become the president and one of the most powerful face of Kamathipura.
Alia Bhatt as Gangubai is an enigma to behold. She gives Gangubai the right emotional heft she needs as a girl betrayed in love to a strong headed and strong willed woman who rose against the odds to become the messiah of women of Kamathipura. Playing her most challenging role so far, Bhatt breathed life into every frame, most definitely giving the best performance of her career. There are some scenes that hit you so hard that you can’t stop yourself from sympathising with her Gangu. I personally loved how Bhansali chose to dress Gangu in white colour which is seen as a symbol of purity.
There’s a thing about Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s movies: it gives equal opportunity for every character to shine out whether they’re in lead roles or supporting. And just like that, Gangubai Kathiawadi’s strength also lies in its strong supporting cast which includes the likes of Vijay Raaz, Shantanu Maheshwari, Indira Tiwari and Ajay Devgan among others.
Ajay Devgan as Rahim Lala aka ‘Bamabai Ka Don’ who played rakhi brother and a support system to Gangu got all the shades of a likable character. Vijay Raaz in his short role managed to grab enough attention. The range that he exhibits as Raziabai, Gangu’s political opponent is, for the lack of a better word, astounding. Shantanu Maheshwari who’s making his debut in the industry with ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ shines out as Afshan Razaq, Gangu’s lover. His romantic scenes with Alia weave magic on the big screen and how. Indira Tiwari who plays Kamli Gangu’s best friend is another character which will steal your heart. Whoever says, there is no bigger enemy to a woman than another woman, certainly needs to see Kamli and Gangu’s bond.
Talking about the music, I would say Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a victim of his own standards. No doubt the songs are good but when you compare it to his previous releases it feels like a let down. Whereas the cinematography by Sudeep Chatterjee is top notch and managed to capture the true essence of Kamathipura.
The society we live in often look down to sex-workers, but some scenes in the film will surely shake you from within making you feel their pain. One among them is when Sheila (Seema Pahwa) wakes up Gangu at 4 in the morning when a customer comes telling her, “is dhande mein time nahi hota” – a simple line but enough to pierce you at the right place.
This brings me to the dialogues. The dialogues by Prakash Kapadia and Utkarshini Vashishtha really stand out, the glimpse of which we saw in the trailer as well. “Jab Shakti, Sampatti, Sadbuddhi teeno hi auratein toh in mardo ko kis baat ka guroor?” still remains my favorite from the lot!
There is a whole lot of social stigma attached to sex-workers, but I believe ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ surely has the potential to work as an eye opener and change people’s perspective to look at sex-workers and make them realise it’s not always their choice to get into flesh market!
“Taqdeer mein aansu the, fitrat mein hasi, heroine banne aayi thi, khud cinema ban gayi “, what an inspiring journey. As a woman I just couldn’t stop myself from whistling and clapping for Gangubai while leaving the theatre!
‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ is now showing at cinemas near you!
