Gangubai Kathiawadi, a film by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, tells the story of a group of women in Bombay’s Kamathipura neighborhood in the Nehruvian era. However, the historical drama is methodically produced not so much for factual accuracy but more for the sake of the story’s impact. After all, the film clocks in at little over two and a half hours, but doesn’t feel like it.
When it comes to filmmaking, the writer-director has a tendency to go over the top in his depictions of women’s lives, as evidenced by his adaptation of S. Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges’ book, which is based on the film’s subject matter, “Mafia Queens of Mumbai: Stories of Women from the Ganglands,” which was published in 2012.
Alia Bhatt puts in one of her finest performances to date. Several people expressed doubts about her suitability for the role because of her age. Although Gangubai seems to be relatively young, Alia is well suited for the role. And she immerses herself in her role as she has never done before.
” A 10-minute cameo by Ajay Devgn is nothing short of spectacular. It’s a perfect fit for him in the role. Seema Pahwa is a standout in her field. It’s impossible to play Vijay Raaz in a little part. Those who meet Shantanu Maheshwari immediately fall in love with him. Valuable and good actor Varun Kapoor is.
Journalist Amin Faizi (played by Jim Sarbh) does an outstanding job. Last seen in SERIOUS MEN [2020], the film’s surprise is Indira Tiwari (Kamli). A good person is Prime Minister Rahul Vohra. Madhu (the girl saved by Gangubai), Shaukat Abbas Khan, Birju, the dentist, etc. are all outstanding performers. “Shikayat” is one of Huma Qureshi’s best performances to date.
Music by Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a disappointment. GANGUBAI KATHIAWADI is recognized for soulful and popular songs, yet not a single one of them registers. ‘Dholida’ is fine because of the film’s visuals.
‘Meri Jaan’ and ‘Jab Saiyaan,’ likewise, are examples of this. Shikayat and Jhume Re Gori are two of the most unremarkable films of the year. Background music composed by Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara is much superior.
Sudeep Chatterjee’s cinematography is top class, and the Kamathipura set images are well caught. The production design by Subrata Chakraborty and Amit Ray is both visually appealing and realistic. In particular, Alia’s white outfits designed by Sheetal Iqbal Sharma stunned the audience. Sham Kaushal’s behavior is acceptable.
VFX is top-flight. There were a few spots where Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s editing might have been improved.
Alia Bhatt gives a career-best performance in GANGUBAI KATHIAWADI and the film as a whole is a dramatic narrative filled with memorable moments. It has a good possibility of doing well at the box office, especially with female viewers and multiplex audiences.
Alia Bhatt’s portrayal of an assertive matriarch of 4000 prostitutes battling for survival in a society where desire outweighs love day and night is met with anxiety, but the actress puts all qualms to rest with a marvelously energetic performance that grows on the viewer.
We don’t have to be concerned about the actress’ physical similarity to Gangubai since she was simply a footnote in Bombay’s underworld history and the general public has no clue what she looked like. What important is that Alia Bhatt brings the real-world protagonist to life with such vivid realism that any doubts go away.
Music and movie posters (Chaudhvin Ka Chand, Jahazi Lutera) on Kamathipura’s walls, as well as the neighborhood cinema hall, serve as reminders of the time.
Put aside the fact that an Urdu journalist presents a copy of his magazine to Gangubai and the fact that the only children born in Gangubai’s brothel seem to be female. Both of these facts are irrelevant. Those niggles are little compared to the grand objectives of a cinematic essay.
A well-off Kathiawad barrister’s adolescent daughter and Dev Anand admirer who goes to Mumbai with her boyfriend Ramnik (Varun Kapoor) with ambitions of making it as a movie star but is sold into the hands of a controlling Sheila Bai is depicted by Bhansali in bold and vivid brushstrokes (Seema Pahwa).
To no avail do her cries for assistance. However, despite the efforts of the brothel madam, the experience woman quickly realizes that Ganga is not to be trifled with and is not to be messed with in any way. Gangu and later Gangubai Kathiawadi are Kamathipura’s uncontested queens, respectively.
The film’s character study, which is more baroque than Bombay in the 1950s, is both expansive and personal at the same time. Using Bhansali’s well-established skill at mounting dramatic sequences and his unwavering empathy for the plight of women forced to work in a hellhole from which they can never escape, Gangubai Kathiawadi transforms into a gripping account of one woman’s individuality, tenacity, and meteoric rise to power in India’s subcontinent.
