Gangubai Kathiawadi premiered at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival on 16 February 2022, and was released in theatres on 25 February 2022. It received widespread critical acclaim for its themes, direction, production value and Bhatt's performance. The film grossed ₹153.69 crore (US$18 million) at the domestic box office and ₹209.77 crore (US$25 million) globally, emerging as a 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]
In 1956, 16-year-old Ganga Jagjivandas Kathiawadi, born into an affluent family to a Gujrati barrister in Kathiawad, aspires to become a Bollywood actress and runs away from home with her older boyfriend Ramnik who promises her a film career under the tutelage of his aunt[a] Sheela. Ramnik turns out to be a groomer who sells Ganga to Sheela's brothel, where she is forced into prostitution and has her name changed to Gangu. There, Gangu introduces labour rights by advocating for prostitutes to observe days off from work once a week. One night, sadistic local goon Shaukat violently assaults Gangu, leaving her hospitalised. Hoping for justice, Gangu goes to Shaukat's principled boss, mafia leader Rahim Lala, who is impressed with her confidence. Declaring her to be his sister, Rahim brutally beats Shaukat when he reappears at the brothel, causing Gangu to earn the adoration of fellow prostitutes. Nine years later, Gangu becomes the brothel's madame after Sheela's death. Henceforth, she is referred to as Gangubai[b], and goes on to become a powerful figure in Kamathipura, the red-light district of Bombay.
In 1962, 14-year-old Madhu from Ratnagiri District is sold into prostitution at a brothel in Kamathipura. Unable to force her into becoming a sex worker, procurer Rashmibai requests Gangubai to persuade her. Gangubai meets Madhu and shares her story, eventually sending her back. Gangubai decides to stand as a candidate in the presidential elections of Kamathipura against the incumbent, a ruthless hijra named Raziabai, who has won unopposed the last two years. With Rahim's help, Gangubai arranges illegal alcohol sales from her brothel to raise money and improve the living standards of the prostitutes. After Raziabai's failed attempt at arresting Gangubai, she broadcasts free movies in her neighbourhood, attracting Raziabai's supporters. Furthermore, she arranges a marriage between Roshni, the virgin daughter of fellow prostitute Kusum, and Afsaan, a Muslim tailor with whom she had a brief romance, by paying their dowry and throwing a grand celebration[c], gaining further support. Gangubai wins the elections and starts advocating for the civil rights of prostitutes. While in office, she gets to call her family for the first time in twelve years and finds out her father has died and her family has not forgiven her for running away.
After a grand Navaratri celebration and a voluntary business refrain[d], Rahim informs Gangubai that a nearby Catholic girls' school has started a campaign to evict prostitutes from the area over concerns of negative influences while a local builder wants to demolish the brothels to construct skyscrapers on their land. Gangubai protests, stating the prostitutes of Kamathipura will be homeless if evicted, and Rahim intimidates the builder's agent. Gangubai visits the school principal to get the children from her brothel admitted into the school, paying their fees for five years and suggesting the implementation of their right to education as a better way to abolish sex trade than forceful eviction. The girls are enrolled in front of sympathetic newspaper journalist Hamid but are thrown out on their first day. Hamid decides to publish Gangubai's interview regarding the campaign in his newspaper to support her cause. Meanwhile, her friend Kamli dies after giving birth, and Gangubai takes in her child, Pammi.
Hamid arranges for Gangubai to deliver a speech at a feminist meeting held at Azad Maidan. In her speech, Gangubai highlights misogynistic societal viewpoints against her community, which label prostitutes as immoral and deprive their children of basic human rights. After her speech becomes popular, Hamid arranges a meeting with a local politician seeking her support in the upcoming elections. Since the school has filed a PIL with the Supreme Court, Gangubai is assured a meeting with the Prime Minister, in New Delhi. Gangubai requests the legalization of prostitution in the country, claiming her neighbourhood is constantly discriminated against and is on the edge of homelessness. The Prime Minister agrees to set up a committee to investigate the status of prostitution in the country and block the brothels in Kamathipura from being vacated. With the order being granted, the brothels of Kamathipura are prevented from being evicted, and Gangubai is widely celebrated in her area for her influence[e] and social activism.
Cast
Alia Bhatt as Gangubai Kathiawadi, a female mafia don and a brothel madame 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]
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 sadistic client who hurts Gangu
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")[16]
Production
Development
The news about an adaptation of one of the chapters of Hussain Zaidi's book Mafia Queens of Mumbai first came out in June 2017 with Priyanka Chopra attached to star as the leading character.[17] The film's earlier title was Heera Mandi.[18] In March 2019, Chopra confirmed that she was working on a project with Bhansali, who also confirmed that he was making Gangubai Kathiawadi with Chopra.[19] However, in September 2019, media reported that Alia Bhatt, who was supposed to do a different film, titled Inshallah, by Bhansali was going to replace Chopra after Inshallah got shelved.[20] Principal photography begun in Film City, Mumbai on 27 December 2019.[21][22][23]
Filming began in February 2019.[25][26] Production was put on hold in March 2020 due to the lockdown ordered by the Indian government owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, when the film was 70% complete.[27] Bhatt resumed work on 6 October 2020, and Ajay Devgn who is playing a cameo joined sets on 27 February 2021.[28] The film was wrapped up on 26 June 2021.[29][30][31]
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".[32] The Hindi version of the chours singer includes Tarannum Jain, Dipti Rege, Aditi Pradhudesai, Aditi Paul, Kalpana, Ruchna, Pragti.[33] The Telugu version of the chours singer includes Sahithi Komanduri, P. Sathya Yamini, Harini Ivaturi, Aswhini Chepuri, V. Pavani.[34]
Release
Theatrical
Gangubai Kathiawadi had its premiere on 16 February 2022 at 72nd Berlin International Film Festival,[35][36] at the Berlinale Speciale Gala Section.[37][38] The film was released in cinemas on 25 February 2022.[39] Earlier, the film was scheduled for release on 30 July 2021 but it was postponed due to the rising cases and second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.[40] It was then scheduled for worldwide release in theatres on 6 January 2022 but to avoid clash with S. S. Rajamouli's RRR, which would also get postponed due to Omicron variant of Covid-19, the release has been changed to 18 February.[41] Later, the date was pushed back by a week to release on 25 February 2022.[42]
The film was released in Hindi along with the Telugu-language dubbed version.[43]
Home media
The film is now streaming on Netflix from 26 April 2022.[44] In June 2022, the film became the most-watched Indian film on Netflix.[45]
Reception
Box office
Gangubai Kathiawadi earned ₹10.50 crore (US$1.3 million) at the domestic box office on its opening day. On the second day, the film collected ₹13.32 crore (US$1.6 million). On the third day, the film collected ₹15.30 crore (US$1.8 million), taking total domestic weekend collection to ₹39.12 crore (US$4.7 million).[9]
As of 14 April 2022[update], the film grossed ₹153.69 crore (US$18 million) in India and ₹55.56 crore (US$6.7 million) overseas, for a worldwide gross collection of ₹209.25 crore (US$25 million), recovering its budget and emerging as a commercial success.[9] The film grossed over ₹209.77 crore (US$25 million) worldwide, becoming the fifth highest grossing Hindi films of 2022.[46]Bollywood Hungama and Box Office India stated that the film's box-office verdict of a "hit".[47][48][49][50]
Critical response
Gangubai Kathiawadi received critical acclaim with major praise directed towards the performances (particularly Bhatt, Raaz, Maheshwari, Devgn and Pahwa), music, production design, cinematography, storyline and Bhansali's direction.[51][52][53] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 22 reviews and an average rating of 7/10.[54]
Sushri Sahu of Mashable gave the film a rating of four and a half out of five stars and wrote "Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi starring Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn and others is an absolute crowd-puller.[55] Mugdha Kapoor Safaya of DNA India gave the film a rating of four out of five stars and wrote "The film's narrative is such that you will empathise with Gangu, root for her and cheer for her with every small victory, but never pity her."[56]
Jagadish Angadi of Deccan Herald gave the film a rating of four out of five stars and wrote "Alia Bhatt as Gangubai is exceptionally brilliant. The linear storytelling effectively highlights multiple conflicts of Gangubai.[57] Wendy Ide of The Observer gave the film a rating of four out of five stars and wrote "The hard-hitting story of a sex worker who rises through the ranks of 60s gangland Mumbai is powered by a magnetic performance from Alia Bhatt".[58]
Ronak Kotecha of The Times of India gave a rating of three and a half out of five stars and wrote "With whatever is packed into this drama, there are enough moments that will draw you into this world where nights seem endless and the lights never fade."[59]Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film a rating of three and a half out of five stars and wrote "The visually sumptuous character study, more baroque than 1950s Bombay, is at once sweeping and intimate".[60] Tushar Joshi of India Today gave a rating of three and a half out of five stars and wrote "Gangubai Kathiawadi's camera work, background score and dialogues are the three pillars that take it from being just another gutsy biopic to a film that creates a massive impact. Gangubai is a solid risk for both Bhansali and Alia. A risk that pays off beautifully for both the director and his muse".[61]
Prathap Nair of Firstpost gave a rating of three and a half out of five stars and wrote "Written by Bhansali and Utkarshini Vashishtha, it flips the narrative by handing out extraordinary concessions to the female lead at its heart, not entirely a frequent occurrence in Bollywood".[62]Bollywood Hungama gave the film a rating of three and a half out of five stars, writing: "The Alia Bhatt-starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi is a powerful saga and is embellished with terrific moments and a career best performance by Alia Bhatt. At the box office, it has bright chances to score with the multiplex and female audiences".[63]Stutee Ghosh of The Quint gave the film a rating of three and a half out of five stars and wrote "Gangubai Kathiawadi is a Sanjay Leela Bhansali canvas and a complete Alia Bhatt show".[64]
Sukanya Verma of Rediff gave the film a rating of three and a half out of five stars and wrote "Something in Alia has surely changed after Gangubai. Her entire performance is about proving to herself and not to the world what she can do, feels Sukanya Verma".[65] Sanjana Jadhav of Pinkvilla gave the film a rating of three and a half out of five stars and wrote "Alia Bhatt and the cast performances, Bhansali's visuals and a sneak peek into this brutal world makes it a definite watch".[66]
Devesh Sharma of Filmfare gave the film a rating of three and a half out of five stars and wrote "SLB has again given us a film which keeps us glued to our seats for close to three hours".[67]Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film a rating of three out of five stars, writing, "Sanjay Leela Bhansali's latest is the kind of old-fashioned dialogue-heavy, sentiment-on-sleeve film which Bollywood is forgetting how to make".[68]
Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times wrote "Alia Bhatt...has given a superlative performance as Gangubai".[69] Anuj Kumar of The Hindu wrote "This is easily Bhansali at his best as he has been able to marry craft with content; here, he attempts a Pakeezah for the millennials and almost succeeds".[70] Sonia Dedhia of News18 wrote "Alia Bhatt practically disappears into the character of Gangubai Kathiawadi. There's a hard-to-miss intensity in her eyes, and tenacity in her voice".[71]
Year-end lists
The Guardian featured Alia Bhatt's portrayal in their listing of the best big-screen performances of all time.[10] Wendy Ide of Screen Daily named Bhatt's performance in the film as the best performance of the year 2022.[72]Mark Kermode of The Guardian listed Bhatt's performance in the film as one of the ten best performances of 2022.[73]Subhash K. Jha of Times of India listed Bhatt's performance in the film among the top five acclaimed female performances of 2022.[74]Sukanya Verma of Rediff listed Bhatt as one of the top female performers of 2022.[75]
Sanyukta Thakare of Mashable listed Bhatt as one of the top female performers of the year.[76] Santanu Das of Hindustan Times listed Bhatt's performance in the film as one of the best Indian film performances of 2022.[77] Sakshi of News24 listed Bhatt's performance in the film as one of the best Indian film performances of 2022.[78]
Ananya Jain of Indiatimes listed Bhatt's performance in the film as one of the best Indian film performances of 2022.[79]Man's World staff listed Bhatt's performance in the film as one of the best Bollywood female performances of 2022.[80]
Deepa Gahlot of Rediff listed it as one of her top movies of 2022.[84] Aparita Bhandari of Paste listed it as one of the ten best Bollywood movies of 2022.[85]Times of India listed it as one of the best Bollywood films of 2022.[86]The Financial Express listed it as one of the highly acclaimed content-driven films of 2022.[87] Corinne Sullivan and Jasmine Ting of Cosmopolitan listed it as one of the twenty best Bollywood movies of 2022.[88] Allan Hunter of Screen Daily listed it as one of the ten best films of 2022.[89] Siddhant Adlakha of Vulture listed it as one of the five best Indian films of 2022.[90] Shomini Sen of WION listed it as one of the best Hindi films of 2022.[91] Anuj Kumar of The Hindu listed it as one of the best Hindi films of 2022.[92]
Nidhi Gupta of Vogue India listed it as one of the best Bollywood movies of 2022.[93]Scroll staff listed it as one of 2022’s best and most memorable releases in cinemas and on streaming platforms across different languages.[94] Meenakshi Shedde of Mid-Day listed it as one of the top twenty best all-India films of 2022.[95]
Impact
Gangubai Kathiawadi is credited as one of the films which has revived the movie business post COVID-19 pandemic.[96] It is considered as an ice-breaker for Bollywood since it was the among few Hindi film to pull audiences back to the cinema halls after the pandemic.[97][98]Bollywood Hungama noted that Gangubai Kathiawadi's commercial performance has given the much-needed hope to the industry that the box-office in the near future would fire up even more. They also noted Bhatt's ability to shoulder a film on her own and stated, ‘‘Actresses often are not able to do so and need the help of a male actor to get audiences to cinemas. Alia, on the other hand, stands out and she doesn't need any hero's support. Without a male actor, she has managed to deliver a film that's all set to enter the ₹100 crore club and that speaks volumes’’.[49]
Additionally, Bollywood Hungama further noted that, there's a belief that the cinema-going audience primarily consists of males. As a result, testosterone-driven films aimed at men would have a high chance of succeeding and fairer sex can't make a film a hit. However, Gangubai Kathiawadi's box office performance proves that even women audiences can take the film into the 'hit' or even the 'super-hit' zone.[49] Bhatt's look in Gangubai Kathiawadi inspired Malaysia's Northern Haute Couture Fashion Show 2022.[99]Deadline Hollywood noted that Gangubai Kathiawadi proved to be a ‘‘rare-breakout’’ for a female-led Bollywood feature.[100][101] Actress Bhumi Pednekar credited Gangubai Kathiawadi for encouraging her to do female-lead films.[102] Cultural professor Rachel Dwyer referred Gangubai Kathiawadi as Bhansali's version of 1972 cult classic, Pakeezah. She drew parallels between Bhatt's and Meena Kumari's character and wrote, "Gangubai may be seen as a version of Sahibjaan/ Pakeezah, who finds herself in the great modern city of Bombay/Mumbai rather than in the courtly world of the then Hindustan, just as Meena Kumari was a heroine of the post-Independence cinema, the way Alia Bhatt is of today’s post-Bollywood".[103]Outlook magazine called Gangubai Kathiawadi a modern-day classic and credited it for setting the stage for a shift in audience's taste.[104]
^Brothel madames are euphemistically referred to as aunts in India
^'Bai' is an 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
^The ninth day of the celebrations is considered holy by Hindus
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