Alia Bhatt starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi will hit the theaters on July 20. (Photo: Alia Bhatt/Instagram) On the occasion of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 58th birthday, the makers of Gangubai Kathiawadi have released the teaser of the film. It stars Alia Bhatt in the titular role and also has a special appearance by actor Ajay Devgn. The film is based on one of the chapters of noted author Hussain Zaidi’s book, Mafia Queens of Mumbai.
In the short teaser, we meet Alia as Gangubai, who is independent, feisty, outspoken and a strong individual. In her own words, she was, and will always be “the moon”. Bhatt seems to have worked on her body language and dialect to portray the character of a madam of the brothel who originally came from the Kathiawad region of Gujarat. Bhansali, for whom the film is his tenth directorial, has paid attention to details. The background score in the teaser catches attention and raises interest in the music of the film.
Watch the Gangubai Kathiawadi teaser here:
Before releasing the teaser, Bhatt shared a poster of her movie. In the new poster, the actor bore a confident look as she stared into the camera. Along with it, she announced the release date of the film. “in cinemas 30th July, 2021 ♥️” Bhatt captioned the photo.
View this post on Instagram
The makers of Gangubai Kathiawadi got embroiled in legal trouble much before the film’s release. Babuji Rawji Shah, who claimed to be Kathiawadi’s adopted son, filed a suit against Bhansali, Alia and Hussain Zaidi. He claimed the chapter of Zaidi’s book, from which Bhansali’s film is adapted, was false, wrong and portrayed a negative image of his mother, showing her to be a sex worker, a mafia queen, and running a brothel in an area with links to underworld gangsters.
However, the court accepted the arguments made on behalf of the filmmaker and others that the suit was barred by the law of limitation since the book was released in 2011 and the suit was filed nine years later, on December 2020.
Who was Gangubai Kathiawadi?
Gangubai Kathiawadi worked for the upliftment of women and orphans in the area of Kamathipura.
Gangubai Kathiawadi reportedly came to Mumbai from Gujarat with her partner who betrayed and sold her off. She was pushed into prostitution and went on to foster ties with many underworld dons and even got a hold over certain portions in Mumbai. She became the owner of a brothel. She is said to have championed the rights of sex workers, saying that their job didn’t give anyone the authority to violate them. She also worked for the upliftment of women and orphans in the area of Kamathipura. Her life has been chronicled in a chapter of S Hussain Zaidi’s book, Mafia Queens of Mumbai.
Check out a few stills from Gangubai Kathiawada
Alia Bhatt in a still from Gangubai Kathiawadi.
This is the first collaboration between Alia Bhatt and Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
Alia Bhatt plays the role of Gangubai Kathiawadi in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film.
Gangubai Kathiawadi was earlier scheduled to arrive in theatres on September 11 in 2020 but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is produced by Bhansali Productions and Jayantilal Gada’s PEN India Ltd.