Sanju teri gangu maili: My quick take on SLB’s “Gangubai Kathiawadi” (Netflix)
If I refer to Sanjay Leela Bhansali (SLB) as a modern-day showman, I believe I am correct. He consistently creates films that provide the audience with an 'Operatic' experience. Just look at some of his opulent films like Padmavat, Ram Leela, Bajirao Mastaani, and even Devdas to see how much he enjoys splurging on large canvasses and beautifully recreating bygone eras. Instead of lavish opulence, he transports us to the ghetto-like labyrinthine lanes of Mumbai's red-light district of Kamathipura. I give full credit to the production designer for painstakingly recreating 1960s Mumbai. Every frame of the film appears to be a beautiful montage from a history book. The dull colors used, choice of drapery and curtains, electric fittings on walls, even photo frames of that time, the costumes, the overall texture of the movie go well with the plot of the movie which is about a sixteen-year-old girl who has eloped from home with her lover, and who is dreaming of becoming a star in Bollywood hence lands up in this Maya Nagari only to be duped and sold to a brothel for a paltry sum of 500 Rupees.
The film is supposed to be a biopic of Gangubai, whose career arc is admirable: a duped girl who is forced into the flesh trade ends up becoming the voice of kamathipura and even meets with India's then-prime minister (Nehru) to demand that this 'oldest' profession be legalized. Was SLB able to live up to his previous reputation with such a compelling story to tell and a talented team of technicians and actors at his disposal? Unfortunately, the answer is NO.
The main reason for my verdict is that the characters do not age with time; it appeared to me that the overall time frame shown in the film is around 10+ years and no one ages. I felt that Alia's casting was inaccurate; she was fine for the role of young Gangubai, but as she matures into her leader/activist avatar, a matured actress such as Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit, Tabu, or even Deepika would have done justice to the role of Gangubai senior. I'm flummoxed as to how SLB missed out on this detail. Alia Bhat retains her childlike freshness from the first to the last frame; she remains 'tavatavit' (unblemished), maybe since Alia’s wedding was announced in near future, she wouldn’t have fallen into the temptation of putting on weight for the later part of her role. Hence, we tend to see a zero-sized Gangu.
Let us forget this wrong casting issue for a while and talk about performances. Alia has done a fantabulous job, SLB has given her enough moments to shine. Alia has grabbed these moments with both hands and delivered them with aplomb, be it her meeting with Nehru or speaking at a public meeting she just shines. All other actors like Ajay Devgan, Vijay Raj, Seema Pahwa, and Jim Sarabh too have sparkled in their brief appearances.
It is said that all the great Showmen of Bollywood, be it K Asif or Raj Kapoor or Subhash Ghai had a keen ear for music and an eye for staging the dances, SLB is no different, his choice of songs and music and the way it is picturized is simply magical. Though the songs of this movie are not as popular as in his previous productions, all songs are filmed beautifully. (Unfortunately, the best song of the album (muskurahat), which is sung by Arijit plays during the final credits)
Some scenes are simply breathtaking, and Director SLB should be commended for these magical moments. There is a scene in which a girl approaches Gangu and asks her to write a letter to her parents, and as Gangu begins to say what she is writing, all the other girls who have gathered around Gangu join her in dictation. The entire scene is shot in one take, with the camera panning to each of the girls. This scene has turned out beautifully. Another scene occurs when Gangu is being interviewed by reporter Jim Sarabh and her children from the brothel join her as they are beaten and kicked out of school simply because they do not come from 'decent' families, and Gangu forces them to sit with her and asks the reporter to take a group picture, which she insists be printed in the media.
The plot, despite being an autobiographical account of Gangubai, lacks novelty because we have recently seen similar plotlines in films such as Kalank and Sadak, and even Shyam Benegal's Mandi was on a similar theme. SLB, on the other hand, managed to keep the Kamathipura language as civil as possible, avoiding profanity in language.
Overall, there are more positives than negatives, so I recommend this work of art to you.
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