Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Cast: Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgan, Vijay Raaz, Sheema Bargava, Jim Sarbh

An obstreperous, perverse crime drama in Hindi which was set in the red light district of 1960s Mumbai. Gangubai Kathiawadi (Alia Bhatt) glamorises its leading character. It is a story of a sex worker. But the film takes a sharp edge to the homey symposium of the melodrama. This story is based on S. Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges’ hard-hitting book “Mafia Queens of Mumbai”.

Gangubai, known as Gangu is floged into prostitution by a man named Ramnik Lal (Varun Kapoor) whom she loved. The beauty of the film lies in her transformation. Within a few years, she realises that she has power i.e., a power to be a boss lady, a power through which she can work for the betterment of Kamathipura. Cigarette tumbling from her lip, a bottle of sugarcane alcohol in her hand and an attractive, appraising stare that turns men into whinge boys.

Alia Bhatt plays the role of a bosslady in a world full of crib and lecherous men. In this film, Ajay Devgan plays the role of Rahim Lala, Gangubai’s rakhi brother leaves a solid impact. On the other hand, Shantanu Maheshwari who plays the role of Gangu’s love interest puts out an admirable performance and the bitter-sweet moments between Gangubai and him are the more memorable parts of the film. Gangubai is also known as Mumbai’s Mafia Queen. Each song is colourfully picturized.

Like other Sanjay Leela Bhansali film, this one, too shows some hardcore truth of the society. While the camera captures the dark side of Mumbai’s red light area, the plot shows some dramatic scenes and dialogues which keep us engaged in the film.