Gangubai Kathiawadi:
A Spectacular Account of a Legendary Woman
Ganga Harjeevandas Kathiyawadi, belonged to a family of lawyers and educationists. From a very young age, Ganga was captivated by films and acting.
The desire of being a Hindi-film heroine was heightened by Ramnik Laal, her father’s accountant. After being catapulted into love with Ramnik, Ganga decides to run away to Bombay to launch a career in the films.
The opportunity seemed perfect — being a heroine and living with her lover. But the reality hit her soon when she was taken to Sheela Masi’s place in Kamathipura. The night she becomes a part of the sex trade, she decides to do away with everything from her past. That’s what Ganga became Gangu.
After documenting characters like Chandramukhi and Gulabji in his previous films, Sanjay Leela Bhansali finishes off the triad with Gangubai.
Gangubai Kathiawadi is unlike any other Sanjay Leela Bhansali film. Not that it doesn’t present SLB’s brand clearly. Gangubai successfully clears the brand of SLB in its characters, music, frames, dialogue-baazi, and gestures. But behind all these SLB tropes is the ache of a woman who wants to belong. The pain comes across in an almost poetic way and that’s what sets it apart from SLB’s previous films.
The poetic way of describing this pain has the possibility of falling flat if not carried well. But Alia Bhatt doesn’t let that happen, not once. There have been doubts around the casting due to her young, urban face, petite frame, and cute demeanour. Alia Bhatt defies all those uncertainties and completely owns the character of Gangubai.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali gives us one of the best song sequences to be made in the last few years in the form of Meri Jaan. Shot in the backseat of a car, Meri Jaan is a first-rate single-take sequence where Alia presents a range of emotions in a matter of seconds.
Major parts of the film are based on the chapter ‘The Matriarch of Kamathipura’ from Hussain Zaidi’s Mafia Queens of Mumbai. Many aspects of the film, like Gangu’s romance with Afshan and contesting against rival Razia bai in the elections are fabricated for the film. There are many anecdotes and stories about Gangubai that have now become lore.
The film is Gangubai’s journey of dreaming of being a Hindi film heroine to being a real-life heroine for thousands of sex workers of Kamathipura. The film is the perfect ode to a girl who came to Mumbai with a dream to be a heroine. Now she has got an entire film about her.
