A couple of hours ago, the trailer for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming movie Gangubai Kathiawadi dropped on multiple social media platforms. The movie is based on the chapter Gangubai Kathiawadi from the 2011 published book “Mafia Queens of Mumbai”, which was written by the writer and journalist Hussain Zaidi. Alia Bhatt will be portraying the titular character, and just like the movie poster, she doesn’t exactly give off the hard-core, street-seasoned vibe, nor does she look much like the real Gangubai Kathiawadi either. Has Sanjay Leela Bhansali made a grave casting error?
Gangubai Kathiawadi was a dreaded pimp/ gangster in Kamathipura, Mumbai. According to Hussain Zaidi’s books, who got help from an original research made by reporter Jan Borges, we get to know of the beginnings of Gangubai and her rise to power. We get to read about how she ran away from home, got betrayed by her husband, became a victim of rape, took over control of a brothel and then became a feared Madam of the disorderly house; and we expect Bollywood to take a similar route.
But Alia Bhatt didn’t give off a tough vibe in the poster, and the teaser made the movie feel like it was a South-Indian movie – a lot of aesthetics and an untouchable, glorified protagonist. Don’t get us wrong, when it is done right, South-Indian movies are brilliant; but Bollywood trying to imitate this formula is nothing new, and it rarely works. And even recent South Indian movies get casting right, or at least, the make-up right for a biopic.
And don’t get us wrong though. Alia Bhatt is a brilliant actor, and we believe portray pretty much any role. Her performances in Raazi, Udta Punjab and Gully Boy among others showed us her acting prowess and range. But in a movie where the actor doesn’t look like the real person, even if the movie is fantasized version of real events, this crucial element alone can put off people from wanting to watch the movie, especially after people were calling out said actor out for nepotism, last year.
Who knows, Alia Bhatt is a good enough actor and she has the acting chops to pull it off, even if the trailer looks to have over-powered our titular protagonist. We will find out all about it once the movie drops, five months from now. Till then, we wait. And hope for more trailers.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi is dropping in theaters on July 30th 2021. Check out the trailer for the upcoming Hindi biographical film down below:
We’re hiring!
We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.
