As our screens have been set on fire by the astounding performance of Alia Bhatt in the trailer of her upcoming film – Gangubai Kathiawadi, everyone has but one question in mind – is Gangubai real?
The answer to that is she is very much real and was as iconic as she has been portrayed in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film.
This biographical crime film based on a chapter of Hussain Zaidi’s book Mafia Queens of Mumbai about Gangubai Kothewali, the madam of a brothel in Kamathipura.
Gangubai Kathiawadi, also known as Gangubai Kothewali, was born as Ganga Harjivandas into a prestigious family in Kathiawad, Gujarat. She had the dream to become an actress since childhood. In her college days, she fell in love with Ramnik Lal, her father’s accountant, and ran away with him from her home and got married. The duo then relocated to Mumbai where Gangubai was sold for as low as Rs. 500 into prostitution by her husband. The hard life of Mumbai’s red-light area toughened her.
During that era, the infamous don, Karim Lala, used to rule a certain locality in Mumbai. Kamathipura was also a part of it. He operated liquor dens, gambling, and extortion rackets from the sixties to the early eighties.
Once, one of the goons of Karim Lala had raped Gangubai, after which she rushed to Karim for justice. She even went a step ahead and tied a Rakhi to Karim.
After the incident, Karim Lala handed over the reign of Kamathipura to Gangubai and she famously came to be known as the Mafia Queen. Later, Gangubai, who was herself a victim of the prostitution trade, became one of the most dreaded pimps of Kamathipura. Many famous underworld mafias and gangsters were her clients.
Despite being a dreaded lady, she had a soft corner for women who were sold into prostitution. She used to fight for such women and care for them like a mother. One such incident includes her fight with one of the significant members of a famous goon gang in Mumbai. She fought over a girl from her brothel who was allegedly raped by a gangster.
She was the undisputed queen of the brothel business in Mumbai. Apparently, she never forced any girl into prostitution; instead, she used to work for improving the conditions of the sex workers and Orphan kids.
The film stars Alia Bhatt as Gangubai, while Shantanu Maheshwari, Vijay Raaz, Indira Tiwari, and Seema Pahwa are in supporting roles, with special cameos by Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, and Huma Qureshi.
Gangubai Kathiawadi is scheduled for a theatrical release on 30 July 2021.