The
much-anticipated
teaser
of
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali's
upcoming
film
Gangubai
Kathiawadi
which
stars
Alia
Bhatt
in
the
lead
role,
was
unveiled
on
the
filmmaker's
birthday
on
February
25,
2021.
While
praises
poured
in
for
the
Bhansali-esque
world
which
captured
the
life
of
the
sex
workers
in
Kamathipura
in
the
1960s
Bombay,
fans
couldn't
stop
gushing
over
Alia
Bhatt's
fiesty
avatar
as
the
mafia
queen
Gangubai,
who
bows
neither
to
pimp
nor
to
politician.
Alia
Bhatt's
Gangubai
Kathiawadi
is
based
on
one
of
the
chapters
from
Hussain
Zaidi's
book
'Mafia
Queens
of
Mumbai'
which
talks
about
Gangubai
Kothewali.
If
you
google
search
this
name,
you
will
find
pictures
of
a
woman
in
a
crisp
white
saree
with
a
rupee-sized
red
bindi
on
her
forehead.
Well,
Gangubai
Kothewali
who
is
known
to
be
one
of
the
undisputed
queens
of
Kamathipura,
owned
several
brothels
there.
Before
you
watch
Alia
Bhatt
play
this
legendary
brothel
madam
on
screen,
here's
all
you
need
to
know
about
the
real-life
Gangubai
Kathiawadi.
Born
as
Gangubai
Harjivandas
in
Kathiawad,
Gujarat,
she
hailed
from
a
family
of
lawyers.
However,
a
young
Gangu
harboured
dreams
of
becoming
an
actress.
At
the
age
of
16,
she
eloped
with
her
lover
Ramnik
Lal
who
worked
as
her
father's
accountant
and
landed
in
Mumbai,
the
city
of
dreams.
However,
her
whole
world
came
crashing
down
when
her
lover
sold
her
off
in
Kamathipura
for
a
sum
of
Rs.
500.
After
weeks
of
crying
and
realizing
that
she
had
no
other
place
to
go,
Gangu
decided
to
stay
back.
Soon,
she
became
one
of
the
prized
prostitutes
of
Kamathipura
who
had
a
knack
of
making
her
rich
clients
relent.
According
to
Hussain
Zaidi's
book,
Gangubai
had
liaisons
with
some
of
the
most
powerful
gangsters
in
Mumbai,
and
operated
many
brothels
in
the
red
light
area.
It
is
said
that
when
a
member
of
mafia
don
Karim
Lala's
gang
brutally
violated
Gangubai,
she
decided
to
take
matters
into
her
own
hands
and
accosted
the
dreaded
don
himself,
after
Friday
prayers.
Karim
Lala
mercilessly
beat
up
her
tormentor,
and
warned
everyone
against
ill-treating
his
'rakhi
sister.'
Post
this
incident,
Gangubai's
rise
to
the
top
was
meteoric
as
she
developed
contacts
with
police
and
other
key
people
with
power,
and
became
one
of
the
mafia
queens.
It
is
said
that
Gangubai
never
kept
any
girls
in
her
brothel
against
their
consent.
She
wielded
immense
power
and
was
rich
enough
to
be
the
only
brothel
madam
in
the
60s
to
own
a
black
Bentley
car.
(The
teaser
of
Alia
Bhatt's
Gangubai
Kathiawadi
gave
a
sneak-peek
of
this.)
In
the
latter
part
of
her
life,
Gangubai
became
an
advocate
of
rights
of
women
who
were
sold
into
prostitution.
Jawaharlal
Nehru
who
once
heard
one
of
her
speeches,
was
impressed
by
her
wit
and
even
approved
of
her
proposal
to
protect
red
light
areas.
Reportedly,
Gangubai's
photos
still
adore
the
walls
of
Kamathipura.
She
is
one
of
the
women
to
have
her
statue
bust
erected
in
that
area.
Well,
it
would
be
interesting
to
watch
Alia
Bhatt
play
this
powerful
woman
who
embraced
the
ways
of
her
destiny
and
swung
it
in
her
favour.
Gangubai
Kathiawadi
is
slated
to
hit
the
theatrical
screens
on
July
30,
2021.