Gangubai Kathiawadi review and box office- released on Netflix - Page 50

Will watch it on Netflix then...sounds good

When does it come on Netflix? I am actually looking forward to it now after all the reviews.

Originally posted by: Mistyy

When does it come on Netflix? I am actually looking forward to it now after all the reviews.

Now I remember since the deal was done during pandemic (they already showed Netflix as streaming partner in the film) I think it probably will release in a month? Because all pandemic films releasing during the second wave were having a four week window. It'll be interesting to see if they delay since Delhi & Mumbai is back to 100% occupancy so they can earn more.

Originally posted by: Talcum

The movie was nice ... though a bit too long.The song 'Jab Saiyyan ' keeps on playing in my head.

I don't think the budget is very high because the sets looked fake AF. SLB has done quite a lot of cost cutting which is a wise thing to do.

Yes makes sense since he started shooting for it within two months of Inshallah getting shelved I guess which had it's sets ready for shoot. For someone like SLB it was a pretty quick project so gotta give to him and Alia too for preparing for Gangubai so quickly. What makes people liking the film even more victorious for them is that their whole shoot was affected due to the lockdowns and pandemic along with it being destroyed in cyclone not once but twice. Yet they brought out a good film to watch 👏

My Take

Gangubai Kathiawadi

Gangubai Kathiawadi begins with the image of a child with a ball of cotton stuffed into her mouth and a pin being forced through her nose, and one wonders how the film will speak. However, after a few fumbles, it does and continues to charm with its eloquence.It argues for equal treatment for sex workers, without being pedantic.

This story takes place in the early 1950s or 1960s, when a naive and starry-eyed Ganga is conned by her own lover Ramnik (Varun Kapoor) into eloping with him in order to succeed as a Bollywood heroine. Rather than being the heroine of Kamathipura, Ganga (who turns into Gangu and then eventually Gangubai) turns out to be the heroine of Kamathipura. The brothel girls become her family, Kamathipura her domain, and Kamathipura itself becomes her home over the years. Her journey is fraught with challenges, opponents, and a social stigma that makes her a fighter. The wonder of this film lies in the way it shows Gangu's character transform over time. Even as the narrative slows down along the way, some fiery dialogues and powerful moments leave an impact along the way.

"Gangubai Kathiawadi" traces Ganga's rise to power and fame from a demure small-town girl in Gujarat, to the undisputed queen of Kamathipura in Mumbai as chronicled in the hard-hitting book Mafia Queens of Mumbai by S Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges.

Bhansali has been able to marry craft with content to create a masterpiece. Committed to the visual grammar of cinema, Bhansali here carefully peels away the element of lust with lilting melodies that convey the convoluted layers beneath the linear story. Meri Jaan and Jab Saiyaan constitute the crux of the narrative. The quality of production is top-notch. They are worth watching on loop. With movie posters and actor portraits of that era displayed on the walls, the film pays homage to the bygone era. All of the songs are vividly portrayed - including Gangu who stands like a vision in white amidst them all.

Thankfully, writer-director Sanjay Leela Bhansali does not paint a breathless hagiography of a woman who climbs the social ladder by any means. He instead focuses on Ganga's interactions with the people who enter her life, the bruises and heartbreaks she suffers, as well as what she becomes in the end.

Alia Bhatt is terrific in the film, her performance gaining momentum as respect, desire, and a certain amount of fear flash in the eyes of the others around her.

Running in Theatres Near You

Originally posted by: Talcum

I don't think the budget is very high because the sets looked fake AF. SLB has done quite a lot of cost cutting which is a wise thing to do.

The budget is 160CR, which some are saying is also a lie and it’s more around 180CR. Either way, films needs 200+ crore in India if it’s going to be a clean hit. Anything under that is an underperformance and not a “clean hit”.

Yeh Kaun hain? 😃

https://youtu.be/QYd_DIeZgrw

I finally managed to see it

I have mixed emotions

Aliaa was lovely …did a gr8 job with the character …and since she’s playing gangu’s teenage to 20s to early 30s, here casting makes sense …I can think of other “her generation” actresses who might have made it work too …(tripti dimri) …but I don’t think they would have pulled of the star power and swag bits (ppl were whistling in my theatre and I live in Australia where this dosent quite happen all the time, let alone for a female centric film )…so kudos

Film itself, I wasn’t so enamoured …it started off really engrossing …the initial portions were some of the best work slb has done …

post seema pahwas exit, I found myself less and less interested as the film progressed …it all seemed like gangu just managed everything easily …the support from a total stranger and influential person , the love of all the girls (all we see is she takes them to a movie ..they want her to be their madame coz she protects them…we don’t really see instances of her protecting them leading up to her becoming madame…ofcourse once she does become madame she protects them and their kids and we see that)

She wins against razia pretty easily too ..she just seems like boss lady throughout , so there is not much of tussle or conflict in her way after the initial scenes (where she is subjected to atrocities and rises above them)

Though u root for her, it almost seems like as the film progresses ur like “she’s got this” …so her “win” dosent seem so emotionally effective ..

I liked the supporting actors mainly Vijay raaz, seema pahwa, and the dude who plays her boyfriend ..the love story was cute but somehow didn’t sting when it didn’t work out coz I kept feeling like she could have gotten that girl married to someone else …why him only? Like her friend says she didn’t need to sacrifice him…oh well

Overall the films biggest plus is aliaa…..if it’s working at the box office, it’s aliaa….it has parts of slbs brilliance but as a whole film, it dosent quite hold together …any lesser actor and this one would have been guzzarish/ saawariya level box office return …aliaa made it work to a large extent

Saturday Update: Gangubai Kathiawadi Excellent - Batman Good - Jhund Poor

Sunday 06 March 2023 13.30 ISTBox Office India Trade Network

Gangubai Kathiawadi has done excellent business on its second Saturday as it grossed 7.75 crore nett taking its overall total almost 79 crore nett. The growth was excellent all over on Saturday and the film has chances of hitting double digits on Sunday and if that happens it could close the second week with 100 crore nett up on the board.

The Batman is doing good business as it collected 7.50 crore nett on Saturday takings it total to 14 crore nett including Friday and Imax paid previews. The growth for The Batman was aroudn 30-35% as the film is doing very well in high end properties but they were strong on day one itself so the growth here was going to be limited. Despite collecting mainly in metros only the numbers remain good.

Jhund collected around 1.50 crore nett on Saturday which was growth in the 65% region and took its two day total to 2.40 crore nett but it was not good enough. The film probably had to double up due to the low first day. The best collections remain in Maharashtra but even here the film is not faring that well as the collections of Marathi film Pawankhind across Maharashtra are far higher despite being in third weekend

Originally posted by: catchmeifucan

It is no doubt a dark theme but what makes it so good is the way SLB made the characters. It’s like now that we are all here, how do we lead our lives the best way we can with our heads held high. It’s a celebration of Women and Human rights! It will move you to tears but at the same time if will empower you. It’s a different experience! :)

OK this just makes me want to watch it even more...

I usually like movies with that rawness in them that really make you feel for the characters, plus the fact that they took a dark topic, didn't sugarcoat (saw a couple of pretty disturbing scenes in the trailer itself) and still managed to make the movie engaging enough for it to do so well is actually very, very commendable ⭐️.