Gangubai Kathiawadi is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language biographical crime drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and produced by Bhansali and Jayantilal Gada. The film stars Alia Bhatt in the title role, alongside Shantanu Maheshwari, Vijay Raaz, Indira Tiwari, Seema Pahwa, Jim Sarbh and Ajay Devgn.
The film is about Gangubai Kothewali, whose life was documented in the book Mafia Queens of Mumbai written by S. Hussain Zaidi. The film depicts the rise of a simple girl from Kathiawad who had no choice but to embrace the ways of destiny and swing it in her favour.[5][6][7][8] Gangubai Kathiawadi premiered at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival on 16 February 2022, and was released in theatres on 25 February 2022.
Gangubai Kathiawadi received widespread critical acclaim for its themes, direction, production value and Bhatt's performance. In its theatrical run, the film grossed Template:INR153.69 crore at the domestic box office and Template:INR209.77 globally emerging as a major commercial success.[9] Numerous publications listed Gangubai Kathiawadi and Bhatt's performance in the film on various year-end best films and performances lists of 2022.[10][11]
The film has received various accolades. At the 69th National Film Awards, Gangubai Kathiawadi won 5 awards, including Best Actress (Bhatt) and Best Screenplay (Bhansali and Vashishtha).[12] At the 68th Filmfare Awards, the film received a leading 17 nominations and won a leading 11 awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Bhansali), and Best Actress (Bhatt).[13]
Plot[]
In the year 1956, a 15-year girl named Madhu from Ratnagiri district is tricked and sold into prostitution by a pimp, into a brothel in Kamathipura, the red-light district of Bombay, the capital of Bombay State.
She is tortured by brothel madame Rashmibai for not consenting to become a sex worker. Unable to convince Madhu, Rashmibai approaches Gangubai, the most influential madame in Kamathipura to persuade the girl. Gangubai meets Madhu and tells her her own story in order to inspire her to embrace prostitution.
Born into an affluent family in Kathiawad, Ganga Jagjivandas Kathiawadi, the daughter of a barrister, aspired to become a Bollywood actress. At the age of 16 she ran away from home with her older boyfriend, Ramnik Lal, to Bombay, as he promised Ganga a film career under the tutelage of his aunt Sheela.
In reality, Ramnik was actually a groomer and a pimp & had sold Ganga to a brothel owned by Sheela [lower-alpha 1] for Rs 1000, where she was forced into becoming a prostitute. There she changes her name to Gangu. While there, she befriends a fellow prostitute named Kamli. Gangu is valued by Sheela due to her beauty & wits.
At the brothel, Gangu introduced labour rights by advocating for prostitutes to observe days off from work once in a week. A local goon named Shaukat Abbas Khan visits the brothel, violently assaults Gangu (which leaves her hospitalised) as a part of his sexual fantasies & refuses to pay. Since Sheela refuses to take action against the man because she wanted to indirectly teach Gangu a lesson. Gangu goes to Shaukat's boss, mafia leader Rahim Lala for justice. A man of principles, Rahim Lala is horrified when Gangu shows him the bruises caused by Shaukat & at the same time impressed by Gangu's fearlessness. He declares Gangu to be his sister & brutally beats Shaukat when he again comes to solicit Gangu at the brothel. Gangu earns the adoration of the fellow prostitutes for her quest to seek justice & fear from Sheela due to Rahim Lala's backing for her.
9 years after she entered into the flesh trade, Gangu is made the madame of the brothel by other prostitutes after Sheela's death. From then on, she is referred to as Gangubai [lower-alpha 2], and goes on to become a powerful figure of Kamathipura. 3 years have passed since then.
Gangubai initially tries to dissuade Madhu from returning home by narrating incidents of women who escaped sex trafficking being killed by their own relatives in the name of saving the family honour.
However when Madhu remains steadfast in her decision of not entering into prostitution, Gangubai (who saw the reflection of her own past in Madhu) frees her from the brothel and sends her back home safely.
Gangubai decides to stand as a candidate in the presidential elections of Kamathipura against the incumbent, a hijra named Raziabai who has won unopposed for the last 2 years & is renowned for ruthlessness. Gangubai utilises her act of kindness in saving Madhu for electoral propaganda against Raziabai. Raziabai tries to intimidate Gangubai to make her drop out from the elections but Gangubai refuses. With the help of Rahim Lala, Gangubai arranges for the illegal sale of alcohol from her brothel in order to raise money for her election campaign & the living standards of the prostitutes under her control. Raziabai secretly tipped off the local police about this, but they were unable to gather evidence against Gangubai, who swiftly took things under control by bribing the local inspector-in-charge. After this incident, Gangubai worked quickly to erode Raziabai's support base by broadcasting Bollywood movies in her part of Kamathipura free of charge with the help of one of her clients for the entertainment of the prostitutes in order to prevent them from attending a meeting where Raziabai was about to deliver a speech. Raziabai mocks Gangubai's attempts by stating that defeating Raziabai is as impossible as bringing a marriage procession to Kamathipura. So Gangubai arranges for the marriage of Roshni, the virgin daughter of a fellow prostitute named Kusum (who didn't want her daughter to become a prostitute & had attempted to protect Roshni from her clients' gaze by keeping her locked away after sedating her with opium) with a Muslim tailor named Afsaan Razzaq, whose uncle used to sew clothes for her. Afsaan & Gangubai were in love with each other, but Gangubai convinced him to marry Roshni instead by stating that as a sex-worker, she can't marry anybody. She also convinced Afsaan's disapproving uncle & aunt to accept Roshni as their niece-in-law by paying a large dowry. The arrival of Afsaan's marriage procession[lower-alpha 3] was a huge spectacle, previously unheard of in Kamathipura. All of this contributed to Gangubai winning the elections by a huge margin. In the role of Kamathipura's president, she advocates for civil rights of prostitutes. While in office, Gangubai gets to call her family via telephone for the first time in 12 years and finds out that her father has died and her family has not forgiven her for running away. Gangubai pushes forward the concept of prostitutes enjoying holidays by calling for the celebration of Navaratri in Kamathipura, accompanied by lights, festive decorations, music & garba (which she enjoyed while living in Kathiawad) and voluntarily refraining from business on the 9th day of the celebrations[lower-alpha 4].
After the celebrations are over, Gangubai is informed by Rahim Lala that a local Catholic girl's school situated near the red-light district has started a campaign to evict prostitutes from the area over concerns of the school's students falling under the bad influence of sex-workers, & taking advantage of the campaign a local builder wants to demolish the brothels & construct skyscrapers on the land. Gangubai protests, stating that the school is barely 40 years old while the history of prostitution in Kamathipura dates back to at least a century & once evicted, the 4,000 prostitutes of Kamathipura will have nowhere to go. Rahim Lala accordingly intimidates the builder's agent from forcibly evicting the prostitutes and warns Gangubai to prepare herself to be sued and brought to court.
After the matter reaches court, Gangubai walks into the school principal's chamber in order to get the children from her brothel admitted into the school. She offers 5 years' fees for all 8 girls on the spot and suggested that providing education to children born to prostitutes but abandoned by their biological fathers so that they can choose careers other than prostitution is a better way to abolish sex-trade than evicting prostitutes. The girls are enrolled in front of a journalist from the 'Bombay Urdu Times', Mr. Hamid Faizi, who was present there & is sympathetic to the cause of education for the children born in brothels. However, after Gangubai leaves, the children are beaten by the nuns and thrown out of the school on their first day. Faizi thus decides to publish Gangubai's interview regarding the campaign to evict prostitutes in the newspaper to support her cause. At the same time, Kamli falls ill after giving birth and dies, so Gangubai takes in Kamli's child, Pammi. After the interview gets appreciated by the readers, Faizi arranges for Gangubai to deliver a speech at a feminist meeting held on Azad Maidan. In her speech, Gangubai points out the inherent misogyny of the society which labels prostitutes as immoral but not the men who visit them. She states that while politicians talk about ending discrimination in the country along lines of caste, creed, colour & religion, prostitutes who actually follow these ideals in real life while giving their services face discrimination & have been pushed to the margins of the society. She then states that by satisfying the sexual appetite of anti-social elements & unfaithful husbands, prostitutes play a vital role in decreasing domestic & sexual violence against other women in streets & households, but their contribution goes unnoticed. She also says that she will continue to fight for the right of prostitutes' children to receive an education and for prostitutes to be given respect in society. After her speech goes viral, Faizi arranges for Gangubai's meeting with a local politician in her brothel. In exchange for providing support in the upcoming elections, Gangubai asks the politician to make the school authorities withdraw the petition from the court by his influence. However, the politician initially refuses, saying that the school authorities had filed a PIL to the Supreme Court in this matter. Gangubai agrees to provide support to the politician after he assures her of arranging her meeting with the Prime Minister.
Gangubai goes to New Delhi to meet with the Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru & requests him to legalize prostitution in the country, but Nehru refuses. Gangubai then describes how people who indulge in trafficking girls into prostitution go unpunished, while the innocent girl is victimized throughout her entire life, how prostitutes, who face discrimination while availaing the basic civic amenities like buying subsidised food from ration shops, availing treatment from government hospitals, getting financial service from banks & availing justice from law-&-order agencies like police stations and courts, were now on the brink of homelessness due to the campaign against them & how children of prostitutes were being denied the right to avail education. After discussion, the Prime Minister eventually agrees to set up a committee to investigate the status of prostitution in the country & block the brothels of Kamathipura from being vacated. As prostitution becomes legalized while making trafficking of girls & soliciting sex illegal[lower-alpha 5], Kamathipura celebrated its continued existence, thanks to Gangubai Kathiawadi. The film ends by saying, "To cry was her destiny, but to smile was her nature. Gangu wanted to become a heroine, but this wretched girl became an entire cinema by herself."
Cast[]
- Alia Bhatt as Gangubai Kathiawadi, a female mafia don and madame of a brothel in Kamathipura (character loosely based on Gangubai Kothewali)
- Ajay Devgn as Rahim Lala, a mafia don of South Bombay of Afghan origins & Gangubai's sworn brother (character loosely based on Karim Lala)[14]
- Shantanu Maheshwari as Afsaan Badr-ur-Razzaq, a tailor from Calcutta who came to Bombay for learning the trade from his uncle.
- Vijay Raaz as Raziabai, a castrated male sex-worker of Kamathipura
- Indira Tiwari as Kamli, a prostitute who became Gangu's best friend & worked in the same brothel
- Seema Pahwa as Sheela, the madame who purchased Ganga
- Varun Kapoor as Ramnik Lal,[15] a pimp who pretended to be in love with Gangu & then proceeded to sell her into prostitution.
- Jim Sarbh as Journalist Hamid Faizi
- Rahul Vohra as Prime Minister (character based on Jawaharlal Nehru)[16]
- Anmol Kajani as Birju, Gangubai's butler
- Prashant Kumar as Badri, Sheela's (& later Gangubai's) henchman
- Raza Murad as the builder's agent
- Chhaya Kadam as Rashmibai, a fellow madame of Kamathipura
- Mitalee Jagtap as Kusum, a prostitute who became Gangu & Kamli's friend and worked in the same brothel as them.
- Pallavi Jadhav as Rama, a prostitute of Kamathipura
- Kruti Saxena as Nimmi, a prostitute from Kamathipura
- Sonal Sagore as Banno, a prostitute from Kamathipura
- Lata Singh as Lata, a prostitute from Kamathipura
- Ekta Shri as Ekta, a prostitute from Kamathipura
- Abhirami Bose as Abhirami, a prostitute from Kamathipura
- Chum Darang as Chum, a prostitute from Kamathipura
- Baldev Trehan as Afsaar's uncle
- Jahangir Khan as Shaukat Abbas Khan, a local goon
- Faiz Khan as Liaquat, Rahim Lala's henchman
- Rakesh Bhavsar as Jugnu, a man who tried to molest Gangu when she led a group of her fellow prostitutes to watch cinema in a nearby theatre while observing a day off from work.
- Roshan Chatterjee as Pinku, Raziabai's henchman
- Huma Qureshi as Dilruba, a Qawali singer (special appearance in the song "Shikayat")[17]
Production[]
TBA
Soundtrack[]
| Gangubai Kathiawadi | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Sanjay Leela Bhansali | ||||
| Released | 18 February 2022[18] | |||
| Recorded | 2021 | |||
| Studio | Sonic Bliss Studio | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 45:20 | |||
| Language | Hindi & Telugu | |||
| Label | Saregama Music | |||
| Sanjay Leela Bhansali chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Template:External music video | ||||
The film score is composed by brothers Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara, while the songs featured in the film are composed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali with lyrics written by A. M. Turaz, Kumaar and Bhojak Ashok "Anjam".[18] The Hindi version of the chours singer includes Tarannum Jain, Dipti Rege, Aditi Pradhudesai, Aditi Paul, Kalpana, Ruchna, Pragti.[19]
All music is composed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Meri Jaan" | Kumaar | Neeti Mohan | 3:58 |
| 2. | "Dholida" | Kumaar, Bhojak Ashok "Anjam" | Janhvi Shrimankar, Shail Hada | 2:59 |
| 3. | "Jab Saiyaan" | A. M. Turaz | Shreya Ghoshal | 4:07 |
| 4. | "Shikayat" | A. M. Turaz | Archana Gore | 4:09 |
| 5. | "Muskurahat" | A. M. Turaz | Arijit Singh | 4:37 |
| 6. | "Jhume Re Gori" | Kumaar | Archana Gore, Tarannum Jain, Dipti Rege, Aditi Pradhudesai | 2:50 |
| Total length: | 22:40 | |||
The Telugu version of the chours singer includes Sahithi Komanduri, P. Sathya Yamini, Harini Ivaturi, Aswhini Chepuri, V. Pavani.[20]
All lyrics are written by Chaitanya Prasad.
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Meri Jaan - Telugu" | Neeti Mohan | 3:58 |
| 2. | "Dhole Ra" | Uma Neha, Saketh Komanduri | 2:59 |
| 3. | "Chelikaade" | Deepthi Parthasarathy | 4:07 |
| 4. | "Sukhamulone Untu" | Kalpana Raghavender | 4:09 |
| 5. | "Navvunu Aapaku" | Vijay Prakash | 4:37 |
| 6. | "Aadene Pori" | Sahithi Komanduri, P. Sathya Yamini, Harini Ivaturi, Aswhini Chepuri, V. Pavani | 2:50 |
| Total length: | 22:40 | ||
Release[]
Theatrical[]
TBA
Home media[]
The film is now streaming on Netflix from 26 April 2022.[21] In June 2022, the film became the most-watched Indian film on Netflix.[22]
Reception[]
TBA
Impact[]
TBA
Accolades[]
- Main article: List of accolades received by Gangubai Kathiawadi
References[]
Notes[]
- ↑ brothel madames are euphemistucally referred to as aunts in India
- ↑ 'Bai' is a honorific suffix added to the names of Hindu women in western India meaning 'lady'
- ↑ In India, it is customary for the bride's side of the family to organise the marriage ceremony & the groom must come to the bride's house with a marriage party to attend the ceremony
- ↑ considered holy by Hindus
- ↑ through the passage of the Immoral Traffic (Suppression) Act that year
Citations[]
- ↑ [TBA Gangubai Kathiawadi].
- ↑ [TBA Alia Bhatt got paid a whopping Rs 20 crore for Gangubai Kathiawadi. How much did Ajay Devgn make?]. India Today. “Gangubai Kathiawadi was created on a huge budget of Rs 100 crore which included the stunning set design and an amazing star cast.”
- ↑ [TBA Decoding the economics of Gangubai: When will this Sanjay Leela Bhansali & Alia Bhatt film be a HIT?] (26 February 2022). “however the delay in release resulted in the budget going up to Rs 160 crore.”
- ↑ [TBA Gangubai Kathiawadi Box Office] (25 February 2022).
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "Alia Bhatt begins shooting for Gangubai Kathiawadi, shares pic of her trailer: 'Look what Santa gave me this year'"] Check
|url=value (help). 27 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019. Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "Alia Bhatt commences the shoot for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi!"] Check
|url=value (help). Bollywood Hungama. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020. Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "BREAKING: It's Alia Bhatt vs Prabhas as Gangubai Kathiawadi to take on Radhe Shyam at the box-office on July 30"] Check
|url=value (help). Bollywood Hungama. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021. Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ [TBA யார் இந்த கங்குபாய்? கணவனால் விற்கப்பட்ட 16 வயது பெண் மும்பையைக் கலக்கிய கதை] (ta) (2022-03-08).
- ↑ [TBA Gangubai Kathiawadi Box Office] (25 February 2022).
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "Darling, you were dreadful! The best (and worst) big-screen performances of all time"] Check
|url=value (help). The Guardian. 23 September 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022. Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "Films of the year 2022: Wendy Ide"] Check
|url=value (help). Screen Daily. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022. Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ [TBA 69th National Film Awards 2023 complete winners list: Rocketry, Alia Bhatt, Kriti Sanon, Allu Arjun win big] (en) (2023-08-24).
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "Winners of the 68th Hyundai Filmfare Awards 2023"] Check
|url=value (help). Filmfare. 28 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023. Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "SCOOP: Ajay Devgn allots 10 days to Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Gangubai Kathiawadi; to play Karim Lala"] Check
|url=value (help). Bollywood Hungama. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021. Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ [TBA TV Actor Varun Kapoor To Make His Bollywood Debut With Alia Bhatt Starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi] (October 2021).
- ↑ [TBA Gangubai Kathiawadi gets UA certificate with four cuts, scene featuring PM Nehru modified] (en) (23 February 2022).
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "Huma Qureshi to have a special dance number in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi"] Check
|url=value (help). Bollywood Hungama. 27 December 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2021. Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ 18.0 18.1 [TBA Gangubai Kathiawadi – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]. Jiosaavn (10 February 2022).
- ↑ dos
- ↑ dos
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "Alia Bhatt starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi to stream on Netflix from April 26"] Check
|url=value (help). Bollywood Hungama. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022. Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ [TBA Alia Bhatt's 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' Becomes Most Watched Indian Film On Netflix] (3 June 2022).
External links[]
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