Alia Bhatt is sensational in Gangubai Kathiawadi

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s films share a curious relationship with realism.

Sometimes the whole piece is a visual dreamscape (Saawariya); sometimes a movie opens to a segment of rustic violence, then segues into a dreamy mythic romance (Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela); sometimes the two worlds collide, where a warrior in the middle of a bloody battlefield falls in love amid falling dead bodies (Bajirao Mastani).

These intense swings, transcending space and time, produce a riveting combination – of watching a person dream with their eyes open. It’s a difficult style to master – and it doesn’t always work – but when it lands, it slays. How would such a filmmaker, then, tackle a biopic, a genre that demands a fundamental fealty to realism? The answer is Bhansali’s latest, starring Alia Bhatt, Gangubai Kathiawadi.

Inspired by the life of a famous Kamathipura courtesan, Gangubai Kathiawadi, given its genre and milieu, may not fit easily into the ‘Bhansaliverse’.

But look closely. If the question is how ‘real’ is this film, then the answer is embedded in the film itself. Two words: production design.

https://thewire.in/film/alia-bhatt-soars-in-and-as-gangubai-confirms-place-as-best-actor-in-commercial-hindi-cinema

I shared this random tweet in reviews topic..

11:11

@aavas1111

Is it safe to say that the movie wouldnot have worked in the same manner like it is working now if Alia wasnt in it? YES. I think SO. Those who have watched would agree cause it is HER show completely cause for me this isnt SLB's finest work. #AliaBhatt #GangubaiKathiawadi