On the occasion of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 58th birthday, the makers of Gangubai Kathiawadi have released the teaser of the film. It stars Alia Bhatt in the titular role and also has a special appearance by actor Ajay Devgn. The film is based on one of the chapters of noted author Hussain Zaidi’s book, Mafia Queens of Mumbai.

In the short teaser, Alia is seen as a bold and fierce Gangubai.

Watch the Gangubai Kathiawadi teaser here:

Before releasing the teaser, Bhatt shared a poster of her movie. In the new poster, the actor bore a confident look as she stared into the camera. Along with it, she announced the release date of the film. “in cinemas 30th July, 2021 ♥️” Bhatt captioned the photo.

The makers of Gangubai Kathiawadi got embroiled in legal trouble much before the film’s release. Babuji Rawji Shah, who claimed to be Kathiawadi’s adopted son, filed a suit against Bhansali, Alia and Hussain Zaidi. He claimed the chapter of Zaidi’s book, from which Bhansali’s film is adapted, was false, wrong and portrayed a negative image of his mother, showing her to be a sex worker, a mafia queen, and running a brothel in an area with links to underworld gangsters.

However, the court accepted the arguments made on behalf of the filmmaker and others that the suit was barred by the law of limitation since the book was released in 2011 and the suit was filed nine years later, on December 2020.

Who was Gangubai Kathiawadi?

Gangubai Kathiawadi worked for the upliftment of women and orphans in the area of Kamathipura.

Gangubai Kathiawadi reportedly came to Mumbai from Gujarat with her partner who betrayed and sold her off. She was pushed into prostitution and went on to foster ties with many underworld dons and even got a hold over certain portions in Mumbai. She became the owner of a brothel. She is said to have championed the rights of sex workers, saying that their job didn’t give anyone the authority to violate them.  She also worked for the upliftment of women and orphans in the area of Kamathipura. Her life has been chronicled in a chapter of S Hussain Zaidi’s book, Mafia Queens of Mumbai.

Gangubai Kathiawadi was earlier scheduled to arrive in theatres on September 11 in 2020 but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is produced by Bhansali Productions and Jayantilal Gada’s PEN India Ltd.