Gangubai Kathiawadi: Here’s how an ambitious teenager landed in a brothel to become the famous Mafia Queen

Alia Bhatt starrer Gangubai’s trailer was released on Friday. Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the film also features Ajay Devgn in a pivotal role. Here is the story of Gangubai Kathiawadi, the lady that Alia is playing in the film.

Image: Still from the trailer

Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt will be seen playing the role of Gangubai Kathiawadi in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Gangubai’. The trailer of the film was dropped on Friday, gaining thunderous responses from viewers. While everyone’s all praises for Alia Bhatt’s performance, let us find out about the real Gangubai Kathiawadi, her journey and her life.

Like any other 16-year-old, Gangubai kathiawadi, born as ‘Ganga Harjivandas’, had dreams in her eyes. She dreamt of becoming an actor like Asha Parekh and Hema Malini, whom she fondly loved. But life had a different story for Ganga – a story that was weaved with lies, deception and unfaithfulness. Gangubai Kathiawadi was born in a reputed family of Kathiawad in Gujarat. She aspired to become an actor in the Hindi film industry. However, little did she know that her dreams would be shattered after he fell in love with her father’s accountant. Ganga or Gangubai was 16-years-old when she met Ramnik Lal and fell in love with him.

Ramnik Lal and Ganga eloped, and from Gujarat, they came to Bombay (now Mumbai) to begin their married life. Reports suggest that Gangubai and Ramnik got married in Mumbai. And soon after their wedding, Ramnik sold her off at a brothel for Rs 500. It was the Kamathipura area, a red-light area of Mumbai, where Ganga had died and Gangubai Kathiawadi was born. Gangubai was broken into pieces after her husband, Ramnik, broke her trust and cheated on her by selling her off to a brothel.

According to Hussain Zaidi’s book ‘Mafia Queens of Mumbai’, Gangubai Kathiawadi went on to become one of the prominent names of the Kamathipura area. Several mafias from the underworld became Gangubai’s customers. Gangubai Kathiawadi became the Mafia Queen during the period when Karim Lala used to dominate the underworld in the 1960s along with Vardarajan and Haji Mastan. The Kamathipura area was also ruled by Karim Lala. Gangubai Kathiawadi was reportedly raped by one of the men from Karim Lala’s gang. The fearless Gangubai reached out to Lala, seeking justice, the book read. Soon after this, the relationship between Gangubai and Karim Lala changed drastically.

Gangubai Kathiawadi tied a rakhi to Karim Lala and made him her brother. Lala also reciprocated and always treated Gangubai as his sister. And later, he gave the rein of Kamathipura to Gangubai which then made her the ‘Mafia Queen’.

When Gangubai Kathiawadi became the Mafia Queen of Kamathipura, she made sure that no female was forced into prostitution. She also helped all the sex workers to improve their life by providing them with a better life. And not just the sex workers, but she also worked in improving the conditions of orphans. She was loved so much by the people of Kamathipura that a statue has also been installed there in her memory.