Gangubai Kathiawadi, headlined by Alia Bhatt and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, is set to have its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, 2022, the curators announced on Wednesday.
The 72nd edition of the festival will be held from February 10 to February 20, 2022, in an in-person event.
The film will feature in the Berlinale Special section, along with six other films. So far, itt is the only Indian film in the festival’s lineup.
“…the films selected in Berlinale Special pay tribute to exceptional human beings and to the harsh, yet always surprising world we are living in,” read the festival’s statement.
The biographical crime drama film that is 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 owner of many brothels in the area.
“The pandemic has created distances – not only between people but also the way we see the world. Amongst the 2022 selection are films shot during the pandemic, reflecting on how it feels to be disconnected from others. It is with this first batch of films that we want to highlight the power of cinema as a tool that connects people, places and times ahead,” said the Artistic Director of the festival, Carlo Chatrian.
Recommended
The film, that was announced in 2019, suffered multiple delays owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was halted in March 2020, during the coronavirus outbreak, and the crew resumed shoot in October. After multiple 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, it was postponed when the second-wave of the pandemic hit. A January 6, 2022 release was avoided since SS Rajamouli‘s RRR is scheduled for a January 7 release date. The pan-India film also features Bhatt alongside Ram Charan and Junior NTR, among others.
Gangubai Kathiawadi is scheduled for a theatrical release on February 18, 2022.