By Anil Merani| Since Covid’s first appearance, my family and I have missed our Sunday ritual of checking out the latest B-Town flicks. Hence, I was excited to be privy to Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi press show.
Gangubai Kathiawadi is an out and out Alia Bhatt film; she dominates every scene of this portrayal of the seamier side of life ( Red light areas)
The Maverik filmmaker reproduced Mumbai( Kamathipura) of the late fifties and early sixties quite well; I could spot no holes.
His visual skill has continued as before in the songs.
Alia has risen to the plate doing full justice to a woman who realises that she can’t get out of the flesh trade and decides to stay on and make it better for other sex workers. (Basic things as a holiday)
Gangubai made me belch seeing the hypocritical attitude of society to sex and women. The subhuman conditions most sex workers live in( keeping their drugged daughter in a cage ) made me pause for thought. Last but not least, the torture some customers inflict sent a shudder up my spine.
It is a matter of pride for our small screen frat to see our very very own Shantanu Maheshwari find his space on SLB film with his song with Alia, no small feat.
I was unimpressed with Jim Sarbh’s journo character. He seemed uninterested, his language skills not helping.
While I have no issue with the concept that sex workers need dignity, and Gangubai was among the first in India to demand professional status for commercial sex workers
She still was mafia, and the makers did not dwell on her other activities. On the contrary, every attempt was made to paint her with the right brush, i.e. saving a girl from the trade which she used to curry votes(yes, that part was shown)
Also, Ajay Devgn was the underworld. How can you ignore his killings and other illegal activities and only show him as a caring brother
Gangubai’s short phone call with her mother was full of pathos.
Huma Qureshi was spot on as the qawali gal.
Also, the ending seemed abrupt they did not show what happened to Gangubai after meeting Prime Minister Nehru. Her intense conflict with Razia Bai ( Vijay Raz) left me wanting more, for it ended quickly. Vijay will earn accolades for his effort as a trans brothel head.
PS In a time of masala action flick( Sooryavanshi and Puspha), will a thought-provoking cinema get people to flock back to cinema post the lockdown? We will know the answer by Monday.