New Delhi: Gangubai Kathiawadi is definitely Alia Bhatt’s best work so far. This sentiment was further solidified when the Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial bagged 10 awards at Filmfare 2023.
The crime drama came at a time when Bollywood was crawling at the box office and shook everyone with its spectacular success.
With the heart-touching tale of the rise of a wronged young girl to the matriarch of Kamathipura, the Alia Bhatt starer immortalized the legend of Gangubai Harjeevandas.
However, interestingly, the film faced the biggest protest from none other than the adopted daughter of Gangubai Kathiawadi, Babita Gowda.
She claimed that Bhansali not just showed factual inaccuracies about her mother, but also disreputed their town Kamathipura.
From Ganga to Gangubai
Alia Bhatt’s award-winning film is based on Hussain Zaidi’s Mafia Queens of Mumbai.
Ganga Harijivandas was born in Gujarat. Her life took a painful turn when she ended up in Maharashtra’s Kamathipura as her husband sold her to a brothel for 500 rupees.
Trapped in a world full of exploitation and abuse, Ganga had no choice but to accept her fate. However, she rose to power after developing close ties with an underworld don Karim Lala. Her daughter, Babita Gowda emphasized that her mother is wrongly portrayed as a ‘Mafia Queen.’ “She is a queen, she stood up for the exploited,” Babita added.
Gangubai, who passed away in 1977, was respected by everyone in the community. Babita recalled her mother as ‘Bindaas.’ Gangubai eventually emerged as the matriarch of the red light district with over 200 girls working under her. She vowed to provide a better life for the women rammed into the ghastly trade.
