Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi hit Netflix two months after its theatrical release. The Alia Bhatt-starrer paints a gritty picture of one of the most feared and renowned madams of Indian brothels based on Hussain Zaidi’s novel The Mafia Queens of Mumbai.
The film was scheduled to be released in theaters in September 2020 but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2017, Priyanka Chopra of Quantico fame was set to star as Gungubai but she was replaced by Bhatt in 2019. Shooting for the film wrapped up in the last week of November and released in theaters in February and now released on Netflix in time for Eid.
Bhatt does justice to a very challenging role of a character who is very different from the roles of the many films she has played in Bollywood Cinema. Her portrayal of young happy go lucky Ganga, wa s an easy fit to some of the roles she has played. But her transition to a more serious and often camp Gungubai is very compelling. Ajay Devgan’s special appearance as a mafia boss is indeed very special and added the weight of a seasoned Bollywood Actor.
There is controversy of casting straight cis actor Vijay Raaz of Monsoon Wedding fame as Razia Bai, a trans madam villain nemesis of Gangubai, that trans and queer actors don’t get opportujnity to perform such roles. This is fair criticism. Indeed a trans or queer actor might have done a better job. However, showing a strong trans woman character to the film in a positive role, really adds to the story of all women living in brothels of India.
Gangubai Kathiawadi is a fictionalized tale based on a famed mafia madam who was not just a gangster leader but a fighter to improve the condition of girls and women who lived in those brothels.
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