Currently, there has been a lot of buzz about the Alia Bhatt starrer ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’. The trailer itself looked very promising, despite it raising a few eyebrows for alleged racism and misrepresentation.
However, Gangubai’s family have lashed out at the movie and condemned the makers for making her appear like a ‘prostitute’.
According to India Today, Gangubai’s purported adopted son Babu Raoji Shah had filed a petition against the film back in 2021. Bombay High Court had refused to withhold the release of the film and also granted an interim stay on the criminal defamation proceedings against the makers of the film.
In a recent interview, Babu Raoji Shah said:
“My mother has been turned into a prostitute. People are now saying inexplicable things about my mother.”
Their family lawyer alleges that the entire family was in shock after watching the trailer.
“The way Gangubai was portrayed is completely wrong and baseless. It is vulgar. You are representing a social activist as a prostitute. Which family would like it? You have made her a vamp and lady don,” said the lawyer, Narendran.
The case which was filed by Babu Raoji Shah is allegedly still pending at court. About this, the lawyer said, “The issue with our (legal) system here is that instead of doing something about the gross misrepresentation, you are asked to produce proof that the son is indeed Gangubai’s son. Although we have proved it in court, there is no hearing in this matter now.”
“The family has been in hiding. They are shifting homes, moving to Andheri or Borivali. Many relatives have raised questions over the portrayal, asking the family if Gangubai was really a prostitute and not a social worker as they had said. The family’s mental state is not good. No one is able to live in peace,” he added.
On the other hand, Gangubai’s alleged granddaughter exclaimed that just because Gangubai lived in Kamathipura, doesn’t mean she was a prostitute. By “book”, she referred to ‘Mafia Queens of Mumbai: Stories of Women from the Ganglands’ written by Hussain Zaidi, from where ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ was adapted
“The makers have defamed my family out of greed for money. It cannot be accepted. You did not ask for the family’s consent before going ahead with the project. You did not come to us while writing the book, nor did you seek our permission before making the film.”
She went on to add:
“My grandmother used to live in Kamathipura. So, did every woman living there become a prostitute? We used to proudly narrate the stories of our grandmother. But, after the trailer was released, people have been calling to tell us how she is being portrayed as a prostitute. My grandmother has worked for the upliftment of the sex workers there throughout her life. What have these people turned my grandmother into.”
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