Gangubai Kathiawadi Movie Details:
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Genre | Biography Crime Drama |
| Release date | 16 February 2022 (Berlinale) 25 February 2022 (India) |
| Running time | 2hr 34min |
| Certificate | U/A |
| Starring | Alia Bhatt Shantanu Maheshwari Vijay Raaz Indira Tiwari Seema Pahwa Jim Sarbh Ajay Devgn |
| Directed by | Sanjay Leela Bhansali |
| Screenplay by | Sanjay Leela Bhansali Prakash Kapadia Utkarshini Vashishtha |
| Story by | Hussain Zaidi |
| Produced by | Jayantilal Gada Sanjay Leela Bhansali |
| Cinematography by | Sudeep Chatterjee |
| Edited by | Sanjay Leela Bhansali |
| Music by | Songs: Sanjay Leela Bhansali Background Score: Sanchit Balhara Ankit Balhara |
| Production Company | Bhansali Productions Pen India Limited |
| Distributor | Pen Marudhar Entertainment |
Gangubai Kathiawadi Movie Cast & Characters:
- Alia Bhatt as Gangubai Kathiawadi, a female mafia don and madame of a brothel in Kamathipura (a character loosely based on Gangubai Kothewali)
- Ajay Devgn as Rahim Lala, a mafia don of South Bombay of Afghan origins & Gangubai’s sworn brother (a character loosely based on Karim Lala)
- Shantanu Maheshwari as Afsaan Badr-ur-Razzaq, a tailor from Calcutta who came to Bombay to learn the trade from his uncle.
- Vijay Raaz as Raziabai, a castrated male sex worker of Kamathipura
- Indira Tiwari as Kamli, a prostitute who became Ganga’s best friend & worked in the same brothel
- Seema Pahwa as Sheela, the madame who purchased Ganga
- Varun Kapoor as Ramnik Lal, a pimp who pretended to be in love with Gangu & then proceeded to sell her into prostitution.
- Jim Sarbh as Journalist Hamid Faizi
- Rahul Vohra as Prime Minister (character based on Jawaharlal Nehru)
- Anmol Kajani as Birju, Gangubai’s butler
- Prashant Kumar as Badri, Sheela’s (& later Gangubai’s) henchman
- Raza Murad as the builder’s agent
- Chhaya Kadam as Rashmibai, a fellow madame of Kamathipura
- Mitalee Jagtap as Kusum, a prostitute who became Gangu & Kamli’s friend and worked in the same brothel as them.
- Pallavi Jadhav as Rama, a prostitute of Kamathipura
- Kruti Saxena as Nimmi, a prostitute from Kamathipura
- Sonal Sagore as Banno, a prostitute from Kamathipura
- Lata Singh as Lata, a prostitute from Kamathipura
- Ekta Shri as Ekta, a prostitute from Kamathipura
- Abhirami Bose as Abhirami, a prostitute from Kamathipura
- Chum Darang as Chum, a prostitute from Kamathipura
- Baldev Trehan as Afsaar’s uncle
- Jahangir Khan as Shaukat Abbas Khan, a sadistic client who hurts Gangu
- Faiz Khan as Liaquat, Rahim Lala’s henchman
- Rakesh Bhavsar as Jugnu, a man who tried to molest Gangu when she led a group of her fellow prostitutes to watch cinema in a nearby theatre while observing a day off from work.
- Roshan Chatterjee as Pinku, Raziabai’s henchman
- Huma Qureshi as Dilruba, a Qawali singer (special appearance in the song “Shikayat”)
Storyline:
The film is loosely based on the true story of Gangubai Harjivandas, popularly known as Gangubai Kothewali, whose life was documented in the book Mafia Queens of Mumbai. The film depicts the rise of a simple girl from Kathiawad who had no choice but to embrace the ways of destiny and swing it in her favour.
Gangubai Kathiawadi Movie Box Office Collection & Budget:
| Budget | ₹100 crore |
| Worldwide Collection |  ₹209.77 crore (US$26 million) |
About Gangubai Kathiawadi Movie:
The news about an adaptation of one of the chapters of Hussain Zaidi’s book Mafia Queens of Mumbai first came out in June 2017 with Priyanka Chopra attached to star as the leading character. The film’s earlier title was Heera Mandi.
In March 2019, Chopra confirmed that she was working on a project with Bhansali, who also confirmed that he was making Gangubai Kathiawadi with Chopra. However, in September 2019, media reported that Alia Bhatt, who was supposed to do a different film, titled Inshallah, by Bhansali was going to replace Chopra after Inshallah got shelved.
Principal photography began in Film City, Mumbai on 27 December 2019.
The film marks the Bollywood debut of television personality Shantanu Maheshwari, who portrays Gangubai’s boyfriend Afsaan. and TV actor Varun Kapoor to debut as the grey role of Ramnik Lala.
Production was put on hold in March 2020 due to the lockdown ordered by the Indian government owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, when the film was 70% complete. Bhatt resumed work on 6 October 2020, and Ajay Devgn who is playing a cameo joined sets on 27 February 2021. The film was wrapped up on 26 June 2021.
Gangubai Kathiawadi had its premiere on 16 February 2022 at 72nd Berlin International Film Festival, at the Berlinale Speciale Gala Section. The film was released in cinemas on 25 February 2022. Earlier, the film was scheduled for release on 30 July 2021 but it was postponed due to the rising cases and second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was then scheduled for worldwide release in theatres on 6 January 2022 but to avoid clash with S. S. Rajamouli’s RRR, the release has been changed to 18 February. Later, the date was pushed back by a week to release on 25 February 2022.
The film was released in Hindi along with the Telugu-language dubbed version.
The film is now streaming on Netflix from 26 April 2022. In June 2022, the film became the most-watched Indian film on Netflix.
Gangubai Kathiawadi received widespread critical acclaim for its themes, direction, production value and Bhatt’s performance. In its theatrical run, the film grossed ₹153.69 crore at the domestic box office and ₹209.77 globally emerging as a major commercial success.
Numerous publications listed Gangubai Kathiawadi and Bhatt’s performance in the film on various year-end best films and performances lists of 2022.
At the 69th National Film Awards, Gangubai Kathiawadi won 5 awards, including Best Actress (Bhatt) and Best Screenplay. At the 68th Filmfare Awards, the film received a leading 16 nominations and won a leading 11 awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actress (Bhatt).
