Tomorrow, ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ is all set to release and it kickstarts the season of the release of big films in cinemas. The film stars Alia Bhatt in the lead role as Ganga Harjivandas/Gangubai and is based in a red-light area of Mumbai in the 1950s. Besides Alia Bhatt, the film also stars Shantanu Maheshwari, Vijay Raaz, Jim Sarbh and Huma Qureshi with Ajay Devgn in a dynamic special appearance. The film is directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. He’s one of the rare directors, who can attract viewers through his name. Hence, the buzz for the film is there. Moreover, Alia enjoys a lot of popularity among audiences of all ages. As a result, this actress-director combo has helped the film earn hype though it’s not a conventional entertainer.
‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’, however, faces a few hurdles. The hype is there but is not tremendous, as one would expect from a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film. A big problem is that the music hasn’t worked at all. After ‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela’ (2013), it has become a norm that the songs of his film would be on the chartbusters prior to the release. Something of this sort hasn’t happened with ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’. Moreover, certain sections also have reservations about Alia’s casting. While they feel her performance is spot-on, as evident from the trailer, however, she seems too young. It all depends on what the age of Gangubai is depicted in the film. If the character is shown to be in her early or mid-30s, it’ll look convincing. If she is 40 plus, it might not work.
‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’s opening is expected to be around Rs. 7-8 crore. It can collect more than Rs. 10 crore on Saturday as well as Sunday, provided it gets a good response from the public. There’s Women’s Day in the second week, on Tuesday, March 8. The collections on this day can also be huge and thus, it can give the film a minor boost.
The other release of the week is ‘Valimai’. It’s a Tamil film starring Ajith Kumar and is also releasing in Hindi, like ‘Pushpa: The Rise – Part 01’ (2021). The trailer is exciting and it looks like a complete masala entertainer. The Tamil version was released this morning and the opening is outstanding, as expected. The Hindi version will be released in the evening today. The buzz is very limited. Hence, the opening won’t be great but as shown by ‘Pushpa: The Rise – Part 01’, ‘Valimai’ can grow significantly if audiences accept it whole-heartedly.
