Gangubai Kathiawadi, led by Alia Bhatt and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, is all set to have a theatrical release on February 25, 2022. The film was earlier set to premiere in January this year, but was rescheduled due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The makers took to social media to announce the new release date.
The film, which was announced in 2019, suffered multiple delays owing to the pandemic. The production was halted in March 2020, during the first outbreak of Covid-19, and the crew resumed shoot in October. After several fluctuations, owing to the rise and fall in the number of cases, the film was finally wrapped in June 2021.
While the film was initially scheduled to release in July last year, it was postponed with the onset of the second wave of the pandemic.
Gangubai Kathiawadi is an upcoming Hindi biographical crime drama, loosely based on one of the chapters in 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, who was one of the most influential women in Kamathipura, a red-light district in Mumbai, and the owner of many brothels in that area.
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Following the release of the film’s teaser in February 2021, Babuji Shah, who claims to be Gangubai’s adopted son, had approached the Metropolitan Magistrate Court. He opposed her portrayal as a prostitute, brothel keeper, and mafia queen in the film as well as the book, with a specific objection to a scene featuring Gangubai smoking beedi. However, in December last year, the court stayed proceedings, as Shah was unable to prove he was Gangubai’s adopted son.
Earlier in August 2021, another bench at the Bombay High Court had also temporarily stayed the proceedings in the case, due to lack of evidence.
Meanwhile, the film is set to have its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival this year. It will be held from February 10 to February 20, 2022, in an in-person event.
Gangubai Kathiawadi marks Bhatt’s first collaboration with Bhansali. This project will also see Bhansali Productions collaborating with Jayantilal Gada’s Pen India Limited.