Gangubai Kaithiawadi which is nominated for the BAFTA awards.
Just before he left for London, Sanjay Bhansali couldn’t contain his excitement. He said, “I am thrilled and excited. But most of all I am happy that
Gangubai Kathiawadi has reached so far, especially during these troubled times.”
Bhansali whose earlier works
Khamoshi: The Musical,Hum…Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas and Black have reached out to an international audience, sees
Gangubai Kathiawadi as a film about the dignity of labour. He said, “Why must all films about sex workers be melancholic and tragic? I wanted to make a film about a happy prostitute. I wanted to show that no matter what one’s destiny and vocation , one can be smiling and having a ball in life. Gangubai’s spirit is infectious.”
Bhansali admits making and releasing
Gangubai Kathiawadi was not easy,“We shot a major part of the film before the pandemic. Then the world fell apart. We didn’t even know if and when the film would release. I held my ground about releasing it in cinemas first. My feature films are for the large screen. It’s not about the scale of my vision. It is the way I imagine and shoot a film.”
Bhansali misses Alia Bhatt during his London trip, “She contributed immensely to making Gangubai such a memorable character. Every member of the cast and crew plunged into the project in spite of the uncertain times. Ajay Devgn in a cameo just nailed it. No one else could have done what he did.”
