Gangubai Kathiawadi, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next directorial starring Alia Bhatt is all set to open at the Berlin Film Festival before arriving in theatres in February. While people are going gaga over Alia's phenomenal act seen in the trailer, Gangubai's purported adopted son Babu Raoji Shah and granddaughter Bharti are not happy.
Babu Raoji Shah had filed a petition against the film Gangubai Kathiawadi in 2021. A Mumbai court had even summoned director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and actress Alia Bhatt in the case and later the Bombay High Court had refused to stay the release of Gangubai Kathiawadi. They also granted an interim stay on the criminal defamation proceedings against the makers of the film.
This case is still pending and in an interview Babu Raoji Shah said, "My mother has been turned into a prostitute. People are now saying inexplicable things about my mother." The family lawyer of Babu Raoji Shah has said that the family is in shock ever since the trailer of the film released.
Gangubai's granddaughter Bharti says, "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 further explained that her grandmother used to live in Kamathipura and had adopted four children there - two daughters, two sons. She said that they are from this family but now we've been termed 'illegal'. " 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, " she concluded.
The family is very disheartened as many relatives are now questioning the portrayal and asking if Gangubai was really a prostitute and not a social worker as they had said.