Set in the 1960s, the film portrays the tale of a young girl named Ganga Harjivandas who later became a Social activist and even met Jawaharlal Nehru the then Prime Minister of India to discuss the plight of sex workers and improve their living conditions. She fought until her last breath to ensure that sex workers were treated with equal respect in society as others.
Born in Kathiawar in British India (present-day Gujarat, India), Ganga came from a well-known barrister family. While she was young, she had dreamed to become a Bollywood actress. At the age of 16, she fell in love with Ramnik Lal who at that time was an accountant for her father.
Gangubai ran with Ramnik Lal from Kathiawar and came to Mumbai to settle down and start a new life. Unbeknownst to her, Gngubai’s husband deceived her and sold her to a brothel for Rs 500, changing her life forever. She started working as a prostitute and a new journey of Gangubai’s life started there.
The first few scenes themselves are sure to give you goosebumps portraying a girl so young, broken at a tender age. And as life couldn't get worse she was physically manhandled and sexually harassed by one of the members of Karim Lala's gang.
Karim Lala was one of the most powerful Mafia faces of the city in the 1960s, and the red light area of Kamathipura was under his rule. Feeling violated she went to Karim Lala to seek justice. Beating up the man Shaukat Khan who had wronged Gangubai, Karim Lala announced that from now on Ganga was his rakhi sister.
Later Karim Lala also gave the reign of Kamathipura to her. As a result, Gangubai as mentioned in Hussain Zaidi's book came to be known as one of the "Mafia Queens of Mumbai" and emerged as one of the prominent names in Mumbai red-light areas known as "Kamathipura".
Stellar performances from the cast including Alia Bhatt, Vijay Raaz, Shantanu Maheswari, Seema Bhargava, and others are sure to leave you spellbound. Ajay Devgan also makes a cameo appearance as Karim Lala. Needless to say, you'll be gripped into the storyline and would want to watch it through to the end.
Alia Bhatt is worth applauding for her immaculate acting in the film.
You are sure to tear up as you resonate with the characters throughout the journey and how they emerge amidst all the odds. The movie also perfectly showcases the impact of societal stigmas on the sex laborers, denied of even their most basic rights, distanced and alienated from society, and their struggle to forestall the only roof over their heads from being detracted from them.
Cast
Ajay Devgn was splendid in his powerful role. Fans are raving about Vijay's performance as well. “After watching this one thing has been proved that Vijay Raaz is one of the best actors in our times. His entry really gives goosebumps,” wrote one. “Each one of them is brilliant, but Vijay Raj is just outstanding. I mean the way he portrays the character is outstanding and brilliant,” wrote another.
The honesty with which Shantanu has portrayed romance on-screen has left fans 'Heartbroken'.
We constantly see a panel of brilliant actors being cast in similar secondary roles. Neither do they get a prominent space, nor does the character get a chance to explore their versatility. Seema Pahwa is one of the examples among many others. Gangubai Kathiawadi proves that Seema Pahwa can be more than a 'Maa' & it's time for Bollywood to take notice of it.
Music
The film with Alia Bhatt playing the matriarch of Kamathipura is replete with songs like Jab Saiyaan, Dholida, and Muskurahat sure to leave the viewers gripped onto the end.
The music of the film received praise from the public. While we don’t end up seeing too many of the lavish dance sequences which have been a statement in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s films, we do see a couple of them with Alia Bhatt showing off her expertise in Garba.
However, the best among them was the Arijit Singh ‘Muskurahat’, which sadly, Bhansali kept for the closing titles.
Cinematography
Sudeep Chatterjee’s cinematography is also praiseworthy. He ensured that despite there being many indoor shoots, none of the sequences seemed too dull, and came out lively. The detailing, for which Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known, leaves its mark once again thanks to the brilliant camera work by Chatterjee and his team.
Drawn mainly from the book ‘Mafia Queens of Mumbai’ written by journalist Hussain. A. Zaidi, Gangubai Kathiawadi, seems like a clean version of the life of the famed sex worker who fought for women’s rights as early as the 1960s. Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the film can be called Alia Bhatt’s one of the biggest career highlights—embodying the transition from a starry-eyed Gangu to the elusive matriarch Gangubai.
Written by - Radhika Jhunjhunwala
Edited by - Priyanshi Deolal
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