In a big relief for Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Supreme Court has dismissed a plea seeking an injunction on the release of Gangubai Kathiawadi. This means that Alia Bhatt starrer will be released tomorrow as planned i.e on February 25.
The plea was filed by Babu Ravji Shah, who claims to be the adopted son of the real Gangubai. While he had claimed that the movie was defamatory, the top court on Thursday upheld the Bombay High Court’s ruling and said that Shah could not prove that he was really the adopted son of late Gangubai. The court further refused to put a stay on the release of the movie.
Apart from this, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s lawyer also informed the court that a name change of the movie is not possible. The lawyer cited that the movie is scheduled to release tomorrow and therefore, a title change isn’t possible. For the unversed, Supreme Court had suggested a title change on Wednesday in view of the cases pending before courts against the movie.
Several cases have been filed against the movie so far. Earlier, Maharashtra Congress MLA also filed a plea seeking to change the name of the film Gangubai Kathiawadi. He had alleged that the movie misrepresents Kamathipura as a red-light area while showing the Kathiawadi community in poor light.
Earlier today, Gangubai’s granddaughter also told ETimes that she is making all possible attempts to stop the release of the movie. She alleged that no consent was taken before making the movie and reiterated that the film portrays her grandmother wrongly as a prostitute. “No consent was taken before making this film. And whatever image of Gangubai the makers have portrayed is completely wrong. Our lawyer is working towards stopping the film from being released. We are being denied justice and opportunity since 2020,” Gangubai’s granddaughter, Bharti Sonawane told ETimes.
Gangubai Kathiawadi is produced and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. In the movie, Alia will be seen playing the role of a young girl who was sold into prostitution by her suitor Ramnik Lal. The story of the movie has been adapted from a chapter of Hussain Zaidi’s book Mafia Queens of Mumbai. Besides Alia, the movie also features Vijay Raaz and Seema Pahwa among others. Ajay Devgn will also be making a cameo in the film.
