Gangubai Kathiawadi Movie Review & Analysis | Alia Bhatt | Ajay Devgn | Sanjay Leela Bhansali
think of allowed in kelji in padmavat
mastani in bajirao mastani michel
mcnally in black or even devdas
mukherjee in devdas pansali adds
gangubai kathyawari to his pantheon of
fabulously twisted heroes and heroines
[Music]
[Music]
kathyavari based on s hussain zadi’s
hard-hitting book mafia queens of mumbai
follows ganga’s ascent to power and fame
from being a modest small town girl in
gujarat to the undisputed queen of
kamathipura in mumbai the story is set
in the early 1950s or 1960s when a
starry eyed and innocent ganga is
persuaded to elope by her own lover
ramnik with the promise that he will
make her a bollywood heroine what
happens next is that ganga who later
renames herself gangubai becomes the
undisputed leader of kamatipura instead
sanjaya bhansali chronicles
approximately 20 years in the life of
gangubai and this is what the film is
all about just like the film godmother
was released in 1999 gangubai is about a
woman who’s fighting for her right to
exist and rule her world when the
society at large does not reciprocate
she knows how to make them do so in
godmother
a female thorn who ran the mafia
operations at porvandhar gujarat in the
late 1980s and early 1990s and later
turned into a politician shabana asmi in
fact won the national award for her
performance in gangubai sanjiva bhansali
like savariya pays respect to the films
and directors that he cherishes the most
his approach is reflective of the great
v shantaram’s filmmaking style as well
as kurudatsu yet again he positions
kangoo beside posters of mughali azam
and chaudhvi kachan there are several
references to dev anand in the film and
in terms of visual metaphors hansali
picks white as his colour of choice a
sex worker dressed in a colour
identified with purity is definitely a
nice touch he essentially creates a raj
kapoor inspired aura surrounding his
white clan heroine pansali is a
filmmaker who is not interested in
wholesome pious characters in his films
his films are driven by intense
characters riddled with uncertainty fear
desire and greed think of alauddin
khalji in padmavat mastani in bajirao
mastani michel mcnally in black or even
devdas mukherjee in devdas phansali adds
gangubai kathyavari to his pantheon of
fabulously twisted heroes and heroines
now each film from sanjila pansali is
soaked in extra vegans beat in the
demonstration of love or beat in
depictions of opulence and luxury
pansali is anything but subtle in his
world every frame is as beautiful as a
picture postcard surrounded by dazzling
beauty feelings or emotions expressed in
his films are often compared to poetry
but at the heart of the stories are
always women driven by their emotions
whether it’s to break free from the
constrained societal rules or to
sacrifice themselves for the sake of it
in gangubai hansali has centered the
entire film around a female protagonist
which is great to see in a male
dominated bollywood the film also gives
us a glimpse into the lives led by sex
workers in kamatipura and it is not a
pleasant sight even with lavish sets in
the background there is filth sleaze and
ruthless competition to control the sex
trade market young females who have come
here against their choice adorn the
streets because they have accepted their
destiny and have nowhere else to go the
masala tone that the film has adopted
aside central theme of the film is about
surviving when the odds are stacked
against you and giving back to the
community whether it is perceived as
honorable or not the means are not
important but the end is
before we go ahead i’d like to say thank
you to all my viewers who are still
watching i know it’s super annoying to
hear the words like and subscribe but
that’s the only way i get to know that
i’m on the right path so dear viewers
only and only if you think my videos add
some value to your time please smash the
like and subscribe buttons moving on to
performances the petite alia bhatt
displays amitabh bachchan like swagger
in her attitude and there is perhaps a
touch of yesteryear’s screen goddesses
like madubala in her as well it’s an
intentionally flashy performance
extremely theatrical as is typical of
female performances in pensale’s films
there is a scene in which aliya makes a
long-distance call to her parents after
12 years and learns that her father has
died and she retaliates with an outburst
to the operator who informs her that she
only has 30 seconds left on the
connection or take the moment in which
she delivers an impassioned speech
advocating for the rights of sex workers
and their children she is genuinely
superb in these scenes ajay david has a
small role but makes it count with his
somber expressions devkin has portrayed
a similar part as a kind-hearted mobster
in once upon a time in mumbai and he has
done a fine job in this film as well
vijayraz gets very little screen time as
a transsexual yet he manages to hold
everyone’s interest whenever he’s on
screen seema pava and shantanu
maheshwari among the rest of the
supporting cast have done a good job in
their roles as well when bhansali is in
charge there’s energy and vibrancy in
images as usual the dancing and music
tugs at your heartstrings and this time
around dialogue bazi is exquisite too
utkarshini vashisht and prakash kapariya
who are credited as co-writers assist
him admirably that being said pansali is
not without his flaws this time around
he did get carried away with the plot a
bit funzali’s screenplay establishes the
tone nicely at the beginning but the
film falters in the middle half and
there simply isn’t enough content to
fill 156 minutes of the film’s running
time the film does come back to life in
the second half particularly towards the
end the lack of nuance in a single track
storyline as well as the lack of
character depth apart from gangubai’s
character is also something i found
problematic there isn’t enough time
spent on the relationship between gangu
and raheem lala to show us why he was
willing to battle the world for her this
fictionalized version of the real
gangubai also omits any violence in
which gangubai is alleged to have been
involved and drugs are subtly replaced
with alcohol sold on the premises it’s
not a real biopic as gangubai’s shady
past has been sanitized to a great
extent which is a pity my concluding
thoughts about kanbu by kathyawadi are
that it’s a treat for fans of
sanjilapansali and his films pansali’s
tendency for exaggerated sequences
frequently overpowers his work but this
time the plot fits the film’s masala
tone resulting in the type of
old-fashioned dialogue heavy heartfelt
film that is rarely seen these days the
transformation of a damsel in distress
to a mob boss is wonderfully essayed by
aliabad who should be an automatic
nominee come the award season the film
is a bit on the longer side with a
bloated mid section and lacks character
depth but fans of sanji lapansali
already know that to be true from his
previous blockbusters i’m going to go
with 3.5 stars out of 5 for gangubai
kathyabadi and that’s a wrap guys and i
hope you’ve enjoyed listening to my
review let me know in the comments below
what are your thoughts on the movie if
you think this review was helpful please
hit the like and subscribe buttons and
hit the bell icon to get notified for
future reviews see you guys in the next
