Gangubai Kathiawadi

That this film ended up in court with the family bears directly on its subject. The source is a chapter in S. Hussain Zaidi's book Mafia Queens of Mumbai, about Gangubai Harjivandas, who ran a brothel and effectively ran the neighbourhood in 1960s Kamathipura. By the book's account she wanted to be a Bollywood actress. At sixteen she ran away with her father's accountant, who betrayed her and sold her to a brothel for five hundred rupees. Babu Rawji Shah, one of Gangubai's four children, brought a criminal defamation case against Bhansali, Zaidi and Alia Bhatt. The family's advocate argued that Gangubai was a social worker with political influence and that her children did not want her shown on screen as a prostitute. The Bombay High Court dismissed every application and the film opened on schedule; the Supreme Court dismissed the petition as well. It premiered at the 72nd Berlin Film Festival and opened on 25 February 2022. Alia Bhatt leads, with Ajay Devgn as Karim Lala. Who it is for: viewers who like Bhansali's visual scale and period films built around a single woman. Who it is not for: anyone concerned about the rights of the real person. It was made over the family's objection and presents Gangubai within the frame the book drew.