Reflections after watching Gangubai Kathiawadi

-


You'll like Gangubai Kathiawadi (GK) if you love stories of underdogs who just don't sit and whine about their hopelessness and don't let it get the better of them. Of course, you'll like it even more if you're a fan of visual spectacles by directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Mani Ratnam, Thiagarajan Kumararaja and the likes.

In GK, Sanjay Leela Bhansali gives you a fly-on-the-wall view to the streets of Kamathipura and creates a world where Gangu rules over everything she sets her sight on.

The film begins with a young girl forced into prostitution and almost sets the tone for the darkness that comes later in the film. It still gives me the chills when they shove a piece of cloth in her mouth and pierce her nose with a ring and blood just oozes out of her nose. It's almost like Sanjay Leela Bhansali warning you about the darkness that unfurls later. The film taught me to take everything that life gives without complaining and make the best out of what I have.

It's a classic biopic of sorts that screams "the protagonist suffered so much and still managed to make it big." At a point in time, you start getting bored of this ideology that's imposed on the audience. 

Of course, there are things that you might not really agree with or grok. Why did Gangu ask her love interest to marry a woman from her kotha? Why does the film repeatedly reinforce the idea of giving respect to sex workers? Why does Gangu think women are above men? And a few other questions. But you'll love this film if just watch it for Alia Bhatt's superior acting and want to get a glimpse of the genius that is Sanjay Leela Bhansali!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mumbai

-
Image
From a very long time, I’ve seen quite a few visuals of Bombay in Mani Ratnam’s films. From the vintage shots of Nayagan   to the medieval glimpses of the city in Bombay and the uber chic visuals in Ok Kanmani – this city has always fascinated me. Why does every don/gangster film have to be filmed in the city? Is it because of the presence of non-regulated businesses in the city? Is the police department so bad that commoners rely on gangsters for justice? An obvious answer would be that the infamous D-Company is based out of Mumbai. Let’s not get into that though. I wish to live a long life! After months of looking at the peninsular city on Google Maps, I finally expressed my desire of going to Mumbai to my parents. My dad warned me that the city is so densely populated that traversing through the city will be just like navigating through the famous Avenue Road in Bangalore (Not Bengaluru bro! It will always be Bangalore for me). After chalking out a half-baked plan
Read more

Goodfellas: Is there a better gangster movie than this?

-
Image
There are a lot of articles on the internet about the best shows to watch during the lockdown. Heck, BookMyShow sends me updates everyday on the best movies and web-series. It’s getting cluttered and even your friend provides you with a list of recommendations. What do you do when you’re being bulldozed by so many recommendations? If you’re like me, you’d go and watch a timeless classic from your favorite genre and forget about the recommendations.  Goodfellas  is that kind of film for me! It has the signature of a masterpiece written all over it. The “funny-how” scene helmed by Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta, and even the murder of Billy Batts was directed so well that you can watch it any number of times. It features some iconic imagery and is certainly quotable. To this day, the film is worshipped by fans and film-makers alike. It’s the holy grail of fun, energetic and stylized cinema packaged in a timeless classic. 
Read more

The Anti-Heroes Of Tamil Cinema

-
Image
Google defines an anti-hero as, “A central character in a story, drama or film who lacks conventional heroic attributes.” ------------------------ In Tamil Cinema, we’ve had the privilege of watching big superstars donning the role of an anti-hero. Surprisingly, fans have flocked into the theatres for such films and made them blockbusters. Just like how Arnold Schwarzenegger beautifully portrayed a genocidal machine in the Terminator series, many stars down south have done the same and reaped well-deserved rewards. Before we get into the listicle, we’ll talk about the distinguishing characteristics of a villain and an anti-hero. Villains are characters whose evil actions are important to the plot. Anti-heroes can have attributes that aren’t necessarily evil. A good example can be Robinhood who used to steal from the rich and give it to the poor. Even though he was stealing, which is a crime, we somehow empathised with him after he donated the bounty to the poor. We can conclude
Read more