Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi is all set for a February 25 release with the biggest theatrical release since the pandemic set in two years ago As many as 2,000 prints of the film will be screened in multiplexes and single screens across the country. This is not only the biggest release for Alia Bhatt but also one of the biggest releases ever for a film starring a female hero.
An inside source reveals, “Gangubai Kathiawadi is a Sanjay Leela Bhansali creation. He is India’s most venerated director.A film by Bhansali is an event. It happens once in 2-3 years. The co-producer Pen India Ltd feels this film has the potential to do for Hindi cinema what Pushpa has done: break the jinx on theatre releases,bring back audiences in optimum numbers after the pandemic.”
By the director’s own admission,Gangubai Kathiawadi , which is his tenth directorial,is his best film to date.
“Bhansali has stepped out of his comfort zone to make a film on crime and punishment which will shock those who expect another costume drama from him and surprise those who think the director is too romantic to visit the rugged hinterland,” says a source from the film’s core team.
The few lucky souls who have seen some rushes of Gangubai Kathiawadi feel Bhansali’s new violent dialect puts him right up there with the celluloid masters of gangsterism. In its seamless verger of crime and drama Gangubai Kathiawadi is comparable with Nitin Bose’s Ganga Jumna and Yash Chopra’s Deewaar.