Never Expected Movie Mafia To Do Something Good: Kangana On Gangubai Kathiawadi Success

Gangubai Kathiawadi's massive opening day seems to have put Kangana Ranaut on the backfoot. While the Queen actor had lashed out recently against the film and its lead actor Alia Bhatt, she has applauded the movie now for offering a possible lease of life to "theatres which are on ventilator". The Sanjay Leela Bhansali film had its fair share of legal hassles but once it made to the theatres, critics and audience cannot stop gushing over its gorgeous frames and Bhatt's powerful performance.

Amidst the controversies around the film, Ranaut decided to jump on the bandwagon and called Bhatt a "romantic bimbo" and "papa ki pari." She even went on to predict a poor run at the box office for Gangubai Kathiwadi, adding that it is going to tank.

"This Friday 200 crore rupees will be burnt to ashes at the box office," she wrote on Instagram. Ranaut is known to stir controversy on social media, for which she is even facing lawsuits and has been summoned by the Punjab court on April 19 for a separate case. She had allegedly made remarks and compared an old woman farmer Mohinder Kaur with Bilkis Bano and misidentified her "shaheen bagh ki dadi," with wrote alleged derogative terms associated with the farmer on her Twitter account, which later was banned.

Suggested Reading: Freedom in ‘Bheek’: Five Times Kangana Ranaut Landed Herself In A Controversy

Kangana Ranaut On Gangubai Kathiawadi Success At Box Office

In the past, Ranaut had shamed Bhatt for having a British passport and went on to drag the word "nepotism" in her critiques. Despite so many troubles from courts and Ranaut, the film was released smoothly in theatres on February 25. It was also reported that the first-day collection of the film was Rs 10 crores, which is considered a successful benchmark as theatres have largely taken the hit during the COVID-19 pandemic and particularly so for a film that did not have a hero or a male lead but a woman with attitude.

Today, Ranaut changed her tone on the film as she shared a story on Instagram, saying, "Happy to hear theatres are being revived in the south film industry with record-breaking collections...I hear some baby steps are being taken is (in) Hindi belt also...With recent female-centric film which has a big hero and a superstar director..." She went on to say that while these are "baby steps", they are not "insignificant."

Ranaut concluded her post by taking a 360-degree turn on her last comment and wrote, "Never expected that movie mafia will rise to the occasion and do something good...If they do we will be absolutely appreciative...Hoping for the best."

Gangubai Kathiawadi is about a woman who is sold into sex trade business of the Kamathipura area of Mumbai by her lover. Gangubai overcomes the tragedy and goes on to fight for the rights of sex workers and their children. The film also stars Ajay Devgn, Jim Sarbh, Shantanu Maheshwari and Seema Pahwa, amongst others.