'Gangubai Kathiawadi' review: Alia Bhatt-starrer is a soulful, heart-touching story

Alia Bhatt starrer's highly talked about film Gangubai Kathiawadi has hit the theatres on 25 February 2022. The Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial is a biographical crime drama set in the 1960s. Its plot is inspired by real life incidents of a woman, Gangubai, who ran the brothels in Mumbai's Kamathipura in the 60s. It is based on a chapter of Hussain Zaidi's book called Mafia Queens of Mumbai. Ahead of its release, the film was successful in creating a massive buzz online with Alia's powerful acting and hard-hitting dialogues in the trailer garnering all the attention.

Gangubai Kathiawadi Review

Gangubai Kathiawadi is a biographical drama film that revolves around the life of Gangubai – a madame in the red light area of Kamathipura. The film began with a young girl Madhu who is abducted and is brought to a red light area for prostitution. The girl is tortured and is forced to take up the job of a sex worker. Then comes the role of Gangubai in play, an influential woman of Kamathipura who is called to convince the girl.

After listening to the girl's story, Gangubai feels her life has been similar. After which she narrates her own story to her and it takes the audience to the flashback. Then starts the main journey of an innocent Barrister's daughter Ganga becoming Gangubai. 

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus Gangubai Kathiawadi narrates the story of a young woman who was forced into the sex trade and how she became a prominent and celebrated figure in the Kamathipua red-light district of Mumbai. While the film begins with a real-life incident that looks realistic and gives fans a sneak peek into a sex worker's life, it smoothly transits to a soulful heart-touching story of a woman who dared to turn her sorrows into swords and challenges patriarchal norms.

What works:

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's direction and the film's writing exceed the audience's expectations. Right from its first scene, the film catches pace and engages the audience. Each character in the film has done a wonderful job, not to forget the leading lady Alia Bhatt herself who seems flawless with her hard-hitting dialogues. 

Alia gets into the skin of her character and plays the Gangubai’s role with full conviction. She manages to build a connection with viewers and helps them feel what she is going through, which gives the audience a holistic experience. Bhatt perfectly picks the Gujarati accent right from the beginning of the film.

As her character evolves there is a change in her voice modulation which makes her role look even more powerful. From powerful dialogues to Gangubai’s impactful walk, Alia nailed every bit of her part which makes Gangubai’s character larger than life.

Not just Alia but newcomer Shantanu Maheshwari as Afsaan also did a brilliant job. His charm and innocence managed to win the hearts of the audience. Ajay Devgn in Karim Lala’s role was a perfect choice as his cameo appearance was like the cherry on the cake.

Even though his role was not that long, he lifted up the energy in the theatres whenever his character showed up on the screen. For one reason, his character in the film reminded the audience of his role in Once Upon a Time in Mumbai. Vijay Raaz's role as Raziabai was short but impactful. His aura, dialogue delivery and screen presence as trans man was strong and powerful. Jim Sarbh as a journalist did a good job and managed to impress the audience.

Overall, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s casting was to the point as every actor played their part well. Moreover, the biopic was portrayed sensitively without any absurd or unnecessary scenes, every scene was interlinked to one another. The setup, props, costumes were taken care of with perfection.

The best part of the film was its ending speech and it was Alia's moment to shine as she takes on the centre stage and proves Gangubai to be a truly iconic figure. The film beautifully concludes with Gangubai becoming the star figure of Kamathipura and she is celebrated as a hero who continues to be a part of Kamathipura's people's life even today.

What doesn’t work:

There are a few scenes in Gangubai Kathiawadi that showcase violence against women that might not go well with the audiences and might make them feel irked. There also are a lot of scenes, where abusive language is glorified.

Apart from that, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s films are known for its music among other things but this time apart from Dholida, all other songs failed to create the magic that is usually present in Bhansali's films. Glimpses from the trailer suggested fans that Vijay Raaz would have a strong character but unfortunately, his screen time was very less and it was disappointing. Several scenes also seem to share similarities with Bhansali's Ram Leela.

Review: Final thoughts 

The film gives a sneak peek into a prostitute's life but it establishes Gangubai as a powerful changemaker. From a scared Ganga to a fierce Gangubai, Alia has done exceedingly well, as have others. 

Gangubai faces a lot of ups and downs in the film and from the very beginning. It has moments of sadness, happiness and humour too all carefully created by the powerful storytelling of Bhansali.

Reviewer Rating: 4/5

Image: Instagram@aliaabhatt