Gangubai Kathiawadi's Dholida Might Remind You This Other Sanjay Leela Bhansali Song

As its release date draws close, the makers of Gangubai Kathiawadi released the first song from the film's album- "Dholida". The film features Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn in the lead and will be released theatrically on February 23.

The film features Alia Bhatt in the role of Gangubai, a real brothel madame who ran the Kamathipura area of Mumbai in the sixties. Gangubai was known to be a strong advocate of the rights of sex workers and is known to have met with Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister to discuss their living conditions.

The Sanjay Leela Bhansali biopic on Gangubai is based on a book titled Mafia Queens of Mumbai which has been penned by Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges.

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About Dholida Song

Sung by Janhvi Shrimankar and Shail Hada, "Dholida" has been composed by Bhansali, who is known to give music for his films. The lyrics for the song have been penned by Kumar, whereas Kruti Mahesh has been credited for its choreography. According to the makers, this song "gets high on energy as Alia Bhatt rules the floor with the Gangubai swag!"

Indeed, Bhatt unleashes her swagger as Gangubai on the dance floor, starting with her signature pose to greet everyone, clad in a white saree and vermillion adorning her forehead. Towards the end of the song's ">video, there is a long shot of Bhatt spinning ferociously, throwing gulal at those present around her as if possessed by supernatural energy. While the song seems to be set to festivities, its context and the reason for Gangubai's behaviour will be clearer once the viewers get to watch the film.

Here's the song we are reminded of by this number

While "Dholida" comes across as an enjoyable number, one can't shake off this feeling of knowing the tune and the song's overall feel from somewhere. Raking our brains we realised that the song is quite, of not entirely, similar to another Bhansali number- "Nagada Sang Dhol" from the musician-director's 2013 film Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela. The song was picturised on the film's lead pair Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, alongside Supriya Pathak, who plays the role of a mafia queen. Coincidence?

"Nagada Sang Dhol" had been written by Siddharth-Garima and choreographed by Samir and Arsh Tanna. Both the songs, despite being written by different lyricists also verbally depict the sound that a dhol makes on being played. We leave it up to you to decide, how similar or different these two songs are.