Gangubai Kathiawadi – Review

 

Gangubai Kathiawadi – Review

 

• Direction: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
• Screenplay: Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Utkarshini Vashishtha
• Dialogue: Prakash Kapadia, Utkarshini Vashishtha
• Story: Hussain Zaidi (story is based on a chapter from the Book- “Mafia Queens of Mumbai: Stories of women from the ganglands” written by Hussain Zaidi & Jane Borges)
• Producers: Jayantilal Gada, Sanjay Leela Bhansali
• Starring: Alia Bhatt, Shantanu Maheshwari, Vijay Raaz, Indira Tiwari, Seema Pahwa, Ajay Devgn (Guest Appearance)
• Cinematography: Sudeep Chatterjee
• Editing: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
• Music: Sanchit Balhara, Ankit Balhara
• Movie Release: Feb 25, 2022
• Genre: Drama; loosely based on real life story.
• Length: 154 mins
• Review: Birjis Adeni Rashed
• Rating: **** (4/5)

 (The aim and intention of my reviews is to critique and recommend while not revealing the whole story to enjoy the movie when seen. But minor details have been divulged for a proper review!)

White is the color of clouds, pearls, milk, snow, salt, paper, ice, swans…..it’s not just an illustrious  dialogue of the movie,  the color white is an unblemished marker for purity and I guess it can help illuminate the literal and figurative ills of society!  Hence Sanjay Leela Bhansali may have chosen the color white to clad the queen of the red-light district in shades of pristine white in stark contradiction to dark views on prostitution and sex trade.

 Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s artistry is not limited to the lead character of Gangubai, but reflected in the whole set and visual scenery. All the large scale scenes have the grandeur and aura of white and his whole movie has a white color scheme elevating the protagonist to a larger stature.

The movie is loosely based on the real life of Gangubai Kathiawadi. Based on the chapter The Matriarch of Kamathipura of the book Mafia Queens of Mumbai, written by S Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges.  It chronicles the journey of a young, small town girl who gets conned with lure of Bollywood dreams to be sold in the lanes of Kamathipura, Bombay’s notorious red-light district.  Staging through the shameful, sad, painful times, to the strong fight- for- her- life stage, to an activist and advocate for the rights of fellow sex workers, to the queen of Kamathipura, crusading for the sex worker community, and lobbying for legalization of prostitution. Her journey is loaded with challenges, vile brothel madams, conflicting opponents, social stigma, police and politics which builds her to stand up strong for basic rights to education, banking, equality and dignity, for the sex workers and their children.

The empowered and feminist Gangubai who supports her sisterhood is nicely reflected in the equally powerful, feminist Bollywood movie about her, with exceptionally fiery dialogs, getting mouthed out by the female lead protagonist. Such audacity of strength and power used to be reserved for angry young man roles, in Amitabh Bachchan like movies only….. Towering applause goes to the dialog writers Prakash Kapadia, Utkarshini Vashishtha for all the remarkable and outstanding dialogs. Interestingly the feministic part is reflected in paradox of how a sex worker like Gangubai shows importance of consent. Her love interest waits for her consent, the policeman is scared to touch her feet, and the goon is beaten up for trying to get violent with her. 

 And finally it’s time to applaud Alia Bhatt for her brilliant acting skills. She would not have been the first Bollywood actress one thinks of for a role of a sex worker.  But she has matured and grown as an actress to depict such complex emotions from pain to joy, fear to strength, shining in every moment. Her paused and impactful dialog delivery, her sweet expressions and confident swagger in this movie show she has the acting chops perfected.

 Ajay Devgn shows strength and power in his strut and gait in his brief role as the upright Pathan-don Rahim Lala. Jim Sarbh with his role as an encouraging journalist with his subtle performance adds interesting interludes. Seema Pahwa as the vile brothel madam, Vijay Raaz as the Trans Razia add some melodrama. Scenes with Indira Tiwari, Gangu’s friend, are full of pathos and pain, be it the letter writing one, in sickness, or the dead scene. Shantanu Maheswari as the shy love interest of Gangubai brings some old fashioned sweet and shy romance and cute moments to the movie to contrast the sad, bruised and tragic realities.

Bhansali who is known for his genius of visual production, adds glamour and grandeur and artfully downplays the painful details, suffering, sexual exploits and exploitations of sex workers.

Gangubai Kathiawadi is a well done movie and worth a watch. It’s in theatres now if you want to enjoy Bhansali’s visual artistry and Alia Bhatt’s larger than life role. It will be also released on Netflix later in the month.

 

 Gangubai Kathiawadi Trailer:

Oscar Nominations 2022

 

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

NOMINEES

JAVIER BARDEM

Being the Ricardos 

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH

The Power of the Dog

ANDREW GARFIELD

tick, tick...BOOM!

WILL SMITH

King Richard

DENZEL WASHINGTON

The Tragedy of Macbeth

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

NOMINEES

CIARÁN HINDS

Belfast

TROY KOTSUR

CODA

JESSE PLEMONS

The Power of the Dog

J.K. SIMMONS

Being the Ricardos

KODI SMIT-MCPHEE

The Power of the Dog

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

NOMINEES

JESSICA CHASTAIN

The Eyes of Tammy Faye

OLIVIA COLMAN

The Lost Daughter

PENÉLOPE CRUZ

Parallel Mothers

NICOLE KIDMAN

Being the Ricardos

KRISTEN STEWART

Spencer

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

NOMINEES

JESSIE BUCKLEY

The Lost Daughter

ARIANA DEBOSE

West Side Story

JUDI DENCH

Belfast

KIRSTEN DUNST

The Power of the Dog

AUNJANUE ELLIS

King Richard

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

NOMINEES

ENCANTO

Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer

FLEE

Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie

LUCA

Enrico Casarosa and Andrea Warren

THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES

Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Kurt Albrecht

RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON

Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada, Osnat Shurer and Peter Del Vecho

CINEMATOGRAPHY

NOMINEES

DUNE

Greig Fraser

NIGHTMARE ALLEY

Dan Laustsen

THE POWER OF THE DOG

Ari Wegner

THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

Bruno Delbonnel

WEST SIDE STORY

Janusz Kaminski

COSTUME DESIGN

NOMINEES

CRUELLA

Jenny Beavan

CYRANO

Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran

DUNE

Jacqueline West and Robert Morgan

NIGHTMARE ALLEY

Luis Sequeira

WEST SIDE STORY

Paul Tazewell

DIRECTING

NOMINEES

BELFAST

Kenneth Branagh

DRIVE MY CAR

Ryusuke Hamaguchi

LICORICE PIZZA

Paul Thomas Anderson

THE POWER OF THE DOG

Jane Campion

WEST SIDE STORY

Steven Spielberg

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)

NOMINEES

ASCENSION

Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy and Nathan Truesdell

ATTICA

Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry

FLEE

Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie

SUMMER OF SOUL (...OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)

Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein

WRITING WITH FIRE

Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh

DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)

NOMINEES

AUDIBLE

Matt Ogens and Geoff McLean

LEAD ME HOME

Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk

THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL

Ben Proudfoot

THREE SONGS FOR BENAZIR

Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei

WHEN WE WERE BULLIES

Jay Rosenblatt

FILM EDITING

NOMINEES

DON'T LOOK UP

Hank Corwin

DUNE

Joe Walker

KING RICHARD

Pamela Martin

THE POWER OF THE DOG

Peter Sciberras

TICK, TICK...BOOM!

Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

NOMINEES

DRIVE MY CAR

Japan

FLEE

Denmark

THE HAND OF GOD

Italy

LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM

Bhutan

THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD

Norway

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

NOMINEES

COMING 2 AMERICA

Mike Marino, Stacey Morris and Carla Farmer

CRUELLA

Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne and Julia Vernon

DUNE

Donald Mowat, Love Larson and Eva von Bahr

THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE

Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh

HOUSE OF GUCCI

Göran Lundström, Anna Carin Lock and Frederic Aspiras

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

NOMINEES

DON'T LOOK UP

Nicholas Britell

DUNE

Hans Zimmer

ENCANTO

Germaine Franco

PARALLEL MOTHERS

Alberto Iglesias

THE POWER OF THE DOG

Jonny Greenwood

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

NOMINEES

BE ALIVE

from King Richard; Music and Lyric by DIXSON and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

DOS ORUGUITAS

from Encanto; Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda

DOWN TO JOY

from Belfast; Music and Lyric by Van Morrison

NO TIME TO DIE

from No Time to Die; Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell

SOMEHOW YOU DO

from Four Good Days; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren

BEST PICTURE

NOMINEES

BelfAST

Laura Berwick, Kenneth Branagh, Becca Kovacik and Tamar Thomas, Producers

CODA

Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi and Patrick Wachsberger, Producers

DON'T LOOK UP

Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, Producers

DRIVE MY CAR

Teruhisa Yamamoto, Producer

DUNE

Mary Parent, Denis Villeneuve and Cale Boyter, Producers

KING RICHARD

Tim White, Trevor White and Will Smith, Producers

LICORICE PIZZA

Sara Murphy, Adam Somner and Paul Thomas Anderson, Producers

NIGHTMARE ALLEY

Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Bradley Cooper, Producers

THE POWER OF THE DOG

Jane Campion, Tanya Seghatchian, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Roger Frappier, Producers

WEST SIDE STORY

Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers

PRODUCTION DESIGN

NOMINEES

DUNE

Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Zsuzsanna Sipos

NIGHTMARE ALLEY

Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau

THE POWER OF THE DOG

Production Design: Grant Major; Set Decoration: Amber Richards

THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

Production Design: Stefan Dechant; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh

WEST SIDE STORY

Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Rena DeAngelo

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

NOMINEES

AFFAIRS OF THE ART

Joanna Quinn and Les Mills

BESTIA

Hugo Covarrubias and Tevo Díaz

BOXBALLET

Anton Dyakov

ROBIN ROBIN

Dan Ojari and Mikey Please

THE WINDSHIELD WIPER

Alberto Mielgo and Leo Sanchez

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

NOMINEES

ALA KACHUU - TAKE AND RUN

Maria Brendle and Nadine Lüchinger

THE DRESS

Tadeusz Łysiak and Maciej Ślesicki

THE LONG GOODBYE

Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed

ON MY MIND

Martin Strange-Hansen and Kim Magnusson

PLEASE HOLD

K.D. Dávila and Levin Menekse

SOUND

NOMINEES

BELFAST

Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather and Niv Adiri

DUNE

Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett

NO TIME TO DIE

Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, James Harrison, Paul Massey and Mark Taylor

THE POWER OF THE DOG

Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie and Tara Webb

WEST SIDE STORY

Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson and Shawn Murphy

VISUAL EFFECTS

NOMINEES

DUNE

Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer

FREE GUY

Swen Gillberg, Bryan Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis and Dan Sudick

NO TIME TO DIE

Charlie Noble, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner and Chris Corbould

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS

Christopher Townsend, Joe Farrell, Sean Noel Walker and Dan Oliver

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein and Dan Sudick

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

NOMINEES

CODA

Screenplay by Siân Heder

DRIVE MY CAR

Screenplay by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe

DUNE

Screenplay by Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth

THE LOST DAUGHTER

Written by Maggie Gyllenhaal

THE POWER OF THE DOG

Written by Jane Campion

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

NOMINEES

BELFAST

Written by Kenneth Branagh

DON'T LOOK UP

Screenplay by Adam McKay; Story by Adam McKay & David Sirota

KING RICHARD

Written by Zach Baylin

LICORICE PIZZA

Written by Paul Thomas Anderson

THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD

Written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier