The Supreme Court, on Thursday, dismissed a plea seeking a stay on the release of Alia Bhatt-starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and produced under his Bhansali Productions banner. The film is thus clear to hit theatres as scheduled on Friday.
A bench consisting of Justices Indira Banerjee and JK Maheswari dismissed the plea from Babuji Rawji Shah, who claims to be the adopted son of Gangubai, challenging the Bombay High Court’s order that previously refused to grant him an interim injunction on the release of the movie.
Gangubai Kathiawadi is loosely based on a chapter from Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges’ book, Mafia Queens of Mumbai, a collection of stories about women who were part of Mumbai’s underworld. Bhatt plays Gangubai Kathiawadi, one of the most influential women in Kamathipura, a red-light district in Mumbai, and the owner of many brothels in that area.
Following the release of the film’s teaser in February 2021, Shah had approached the Metropolitan Magistrate Court with a criminal defamation complaint. He opposed the portrayal of the late Gangubai as a prostitute, brothel keeper, and mafia queen in the film as well as the book. However, in August, the Bombay High Court stayed the proceedings after the film’s makers filed a petition to quash the defamation case. This was later upheld by another bench of the HC in December, as Shah was unable to prove that he was Gangubai’s adopted son.
Shah challenged the High Court’s order with a special leave petition filed at the Supreme Court.
Making his arguments on Thursday, Senior Advocate C Aryama Sundaram, appearing for Bhansali, said in court that it is yet to be established that Shah is actually an adopted son of Gangubai Kathiwadi. He further pointed out that the film has received certification from CBFC and stated that it actually glorifies Gangubai. “It shows how she rose from a red light area to become a social worker. The film is based on a book titled Mafia Queens of Bombay published in 2011, which has not been challenged till now,” he argued.
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Further, with respect to changing the name of the film, as suggested by the Supreme Court on Wednesday, the advocate stated that the film has been promoted for months with this title.
He also pointed out that, on Wednesday, the Bombay High Court dismissed two other last-minute petitions that sought a stay on the film’s release alleging that it portrays the Kamathipura area and the Kathiawadi community in a bad light.
The court noted that Shah’s adoption by Gangubai was still not clear. To his lawyer’s argument that in those times, adoption of an orphan by a single woman was not permitted, Justice Banerjee said this should have been made clear in the pleadings.
The court went on to dismiss Shah’s special leave petition and left Gangubai Kathiawadi clear for release on Friday.