Gangubai Kathiwadi starring actor Alia Bhatt came out with its trailer recently. Ahead of the film's release on February 25, the film has been creating a buzz on social media. Many were seen praising Alia Bhatt for the way she portrayed Gangubai, the madam of a brothel in yesteryear's Mumbai. However, Babu Raoji Shah, who claims to be Gangubai's adopted son and Bharti, Gangubai's grandaughter, seem to be unhappy about it.
The family had also filed a petition against the release of the film starring Bhatt and Ajay Devgn in 2021. The Mumbai court had also summoned Sanjay Leela Bhansali and the lead actor in the case. After the hearing, the court refused to stay the release of the film and granted the makers interim relief on the criminal defamation case. The case is still pending in court.
Gangubai Kathiawadi Family Controversy:
Babu Raoji Shah recently spoke to AajTak channel and said, "My mother has been turned into a prostitute. People are now saying inexplicable things about my mother." As per reports, the lawyer of the family said that they are in shock since the trailer of the biopic released. The lawyer said that the trailer portrayed Gangubai in a completely wrong and baseless manner. " It is vulgar, " the lawyer Narendra said.
He added, " You are representing a social activist as a prostitute. Which family would like it? You have made her
Suggested Reading: Gangubai Kathiawadi’s Dholida Might Remind You This Other Sanjay Leela Bhansali Song
The lawyer also claimed that every since the film was announced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the family has been hiding and shifting from one place to another. Many of the family's relatives have been asking if Gangubai was actually a prostitute and not a social worker like they were told. Narendra added, "The family's mental state is not good. No one is able to live in peace." The family and yet again sent notices to the director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and author of Mafia Queens of Mumbai from where Gangubai Kathiawadi biopic screenplay has been adapted.
As per a report, the granddaughter of Gangubai Bharti said that the makers of the biopic have defamed her family out of "greed for money". She also claimed that the makers did not ask for the consent of the family before announcing the film nor did the writer before he wrote the book mentioning Gangubai.
Bharti said, "My grandmother used to live in Kamathipura. So, did every woman living there become a prostitute? My grandmother had adopted four children there - two daughters, Shakuntala Ranjit Kawi (Bharti's mother) and Sushila Reddy, and two sons, Babu Raoji Shah and Rajinikanth Raoji Shah. We are from this family but now we've been termed 'illegal'. When our grandmother went through with the adoption, such strict adoption laws were not in place."
She added that before the film was announced the family used to proudly narrate the stories of her grandmother but later everyone started asking about Gangubai being 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," Bharti added.