Gangubai Kathiawadi belongs to Bhatt & Bhansali

Nonika Singh

Heroine banne aai thi pura ka pura cinema ban gai!

Thus goes one of the many filmy dialogues from the film Gangubai Kathiawadi. The question here isn’t whether the life story of Gangubai, a prostitute-turned-leader, is befitting a celluloid tale. The point here is; can a heroine’s performance alone be worth your time and money? Surprisingly the answer is yes. As Alia Bhatt slips into the titular part, owning every single frame and lording over it like a queen she reminds us what a powerhouse performer she is.

Film: Gangubai Kathiawadi 

Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Cast: Alia Bhatt, Shantanu Maheshwari,Vijay Raaz, Indira Tiwari, Seema Pahwa, Jim Sarbh and Ajay Devgn

Rating: ***

Never mind that her petite frame or exceptionally pretty dimpled face do not quite gel with the cinematic woman of steel, the brothel owner part. Alia becomes this Gangubai, who after having seen the seamier side of life, learns to call the shots. The many shades of her character, the loving, vulnerable and finally unafraid, reflect in every sinew of her body and her malleable face.

Sure, the screenplay (Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Utkarshini Vashishtha) based on S. Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges?’ book Mafia Queens of Mumbai has not been written with restraint. Underplaying is not filmmaker Bhansali’s style or forte. Conspicuous like his earlier signatures, he doesn’t let go of any opportunity to offer us a visually sumptuous feast, even when it is set in a dark desolate world. But then it is as much a tale of agony as triumph. Replete with dramatic flourishes, effrontery oozes not just out of Gangubai’s portrayal but also her bête noire Razia played by Vijay Raaz.

Yet, amidst the grandeur that Bhansali creates, he manages to tell us a story. Of course, the storyline primarily stays with Gangubai who rose from being a hapless girl Ganga sold by her lover to the voice of women caught in the throes of oldest profession known to mankind. Her story becomes that of millions; here she talks about her family of 4,000 plus women living in Kamathipura, the red light area of Bombay. While the spotlight is on Gangubai alone, Bhansali does manage to make us feel for them and their unenviable plight. Though he orchestrates an applause-inducing bhaashan close to the climax, there is no denying its emotive power or the underlying message of dignity for sex workers.

In between Bhansali throws in his trademark song and dance sequences; there is a Huma Qureshi guest number and a Navratri celebration. Music is a highpoint of Bhansali films and interestingly here the songs have been composed by him. But the rhythm that truly stands out is in Alia’s act. A stunning stare, menacing laugh, a coy look and that cocky dare… go on to complete the larger-than-life picture of Gangubai. Her mean bone reflects only in flashes, the way she sniffs out the diya and turns the picture of the not so empathetic dead brothel owner (superb Seema Pahwa) upside down.

But by and large and by conscious design, Gangubai emerges as a woman with a golden heart, who fights the battles of women trapped in flesh trade. In its plea in the Supreme Court, lawyers defended the film and emphasised how it glorifies Gangubai. Well, it sure does… even the character of Jim Sarbh as journalist has inflections that accentuate our awe of this woman called Gangubai. Whether this addition is to tip the hat to journalist-turned-writer Zaidi and whether the book holds her with the same deference or not, here much, including other cameos, have been constructed to project her as infallible which she may well have been.

But, unflawed a mafia queen is unlikely to be. Almost in the same vein is cast Ajay Devgn’s fine cameo of her just benefactor Rahim Lala. If you are not looking for subtlety and are ready to immerse in the curated world of Bhansali rippling with dialogues and cesspool of an exceptionally well-calibrated lead performance…. go for it.