Gangubai Kathiawadi's family seeks stay on release of Alia Bhatt-led biographical drama

Gangubai Kathiawadi, the biographical crime drama film starring Alia Bhatt, has once again courted legal trouble. Gangubai's family has sought a release on the film's stay for the portrayal of the titular character.

Advocate Narendra Dubey, representing Gangubai's adopted children, told Hindustan Times that the Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial shows the film's namesake as a prostitute. 

"Even the son of a prostitute won't want that. It is just for the sake of money, it assassinates the character of a person. It is not a matter of mother and son, it is a matter of respect and dignity for every woman. No woman would want to be portrayed in such a nude and obscene manner," he said.

He asserted that she was a social worker who fought for sex workers' rights and even in the source material by Hussain Zaidi states that she "never wanted to become a prostitute." He said that Gangubai was a powerful figure in Kamathipura, Mumbai's red light area, who was visited by political leaders like Morarji Desai, Jawahar Lal Nehru, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee during elections. 

Gangubai's family had moved the court after the first promo was released in 2020. The case petitioning for the film's stay is now pending in the Supreme Court. Dubey told Hindustan Times that they hope they get a hearing before Gangubai Kathiawadi is out in cinemas. 

Previously, Gangubai's adopted son Baburao had filed a case alleging that the film and its source material, Zaidi's book Mafia Queens of Mumbai, were 'defamatory' and infringe his rights to 'privacy, liberty and self-respect.' He had also said that because of the film, he had faced harassment by members of his neighbourhood.

Gangubai Kathiawadi had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on February 16. It is slated for a theatrical release on February 25.