Mafia Queens of Mumbai (book ) vs. Gangubai Kathiawadi (film) review

Hello, dear readers! Today I shall review an Indian book (Mafia Queens of Mumbai, written by Syed Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges) and a film (Gangubai Kathiawadi, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhasali.). Is there a connection between the two? There certainly is. Both talk about life of a real person- Gangubai Kathiawadi, a social activist with mafia ties born in 1907. However, in the book Gangubai is but a chapter, while in the movie she is the sole protagonist. Still, Mafia Queens of Mumbai definitely inspired the movie Gangubai Kathiawadi. 

I read the book before I watched the film, but  the film is the reason why I read the book.  How come? Well, I came across one of the music videos for this movie by chance. If you are new to Indian cinematography (particularly Bollywood), just a quick note- Indian movies often include several musical numbers. So, within a film you will have these long musical numbers (musical videos of sorts). In addition, in Indian cinematography the songs usually serve as a pause of sorts, rather then propelling the narrative or replacing dialogue as in Western cinematography. Not that I'm an expert on Indian films myself, but I feel like this is something worth mentioning. When it comes to Indian literature I'm more confident in my knowledge than with Indian films, but that probably goes for everything. I mean I teach literature among other things. I know my classics, Indian classics included. 

Anyhow, YouTube played the songs from that movie after some songs I was listening to. In retrospective, I understand the reason why YouTube recommended it to me because I now realize that I listened to some other songs from films directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Apart from that, I follow some Indian artists (i.e. painters) on YouTube.  Yes, Internet can really take you places sometimes. I mean there are some things I do not like about YouTube (in particular, the ads are horrible) but it can still be useful. 

I must admit that I haven't been really keeping up with what is happening in Bollywood or Indian cinema in general. In general, I'm more a reader than anything else. I typically end my day with a book. When I do watch films, they are usually old European films.  However, coming across these new Bollywood excerpts on YouTube, I have to say that I'm beyond impressed with the production quality of the new stuff. Bollywood was always fabulous, but now it seems to have gotten more serious. I mean for all its musicality and girl power moments, Gangubai Kathiawadi is basically a film about a woman who survives human trafficking and fights against it. That's a serious topic for sure. 

Let us start with the book. Published in 2011, it tells the life stories of thirteen women, including that  of Gangubai Kathiawadi, a woman who was trafficked as a teenager, but rose to become a human rights fighter and also a mafia queen. As I explained it, I read it before I watched the movie. After seeing the Gangubai trailer, I looked up her story. Finding out that it was based on a real person, I was intrigued. So, I read the book.

“As journalists the first lesson we learnt was not to sit on judgment but raise questions.” Mafia Queens of Mumbai: Stories of Women from the Ganglands.

Anyhow, I originally read this book while travelling from the island. I read most of it waiting for a ferry ride and then the rest while on the ferry. I got to the ferry an hour earlier, so I walked around. I remember it was freezing but I did not feel like walking all the way back to the apartment I was renting. So, I found this book online and started reading it. I was reading while I was walking by the sea and waiting for the ferry to arrive. I was reading it while sailing to Split. I finished it about the time we arrived to the port.

What kind of books it is? Well, it is certainly a book that knows how to capture its reader. Mafia Queens of Mumbai, a novel  by Syed Hussain Zaidi tells a story of thirteen women with mafia ties. These are the 'mafia queens of Mumbai' he references in the title. The full title of the book is: The Mafia Queens of Mumbai: Stories of Women from the Ganglands. Now, I feel that the full title tells the full story about this book. This indeed a set of stories about women from the ganglands. 

In my opinion, not all of these women featured in Mafia Queens of Mumbai can be truthfully called mafia queens. Some of them more flirted or associated themselves with mafia and crime than anything else. Some turned to life of crime at a desperate time in their lives. Some were indeed mafia queens of sorts.  However, this book does not tell us a story about hardened criminals. It rather paints these women in a positive light. It implies that they had no choice but to turn to mafia. These are women who found themselves in difficult or impossible situations, often through no fault of their own. They learnt how to adapt in a cruel world, showed cunning and intelligence. A lot of them formed close ties with the police. Both in the film inspired by this book and the book itself, Indian police is presented as extremely corrupt. This corruption realizes crime in a way. If everyone is corrupt, what does it even mean to be a criminal? 

Bribes are everywhere. Everyone bribes everyone. It makes crime feel relative. This is certainly a book that does not take the notion that all criminals are inherently evil. By exposing the system of bribes, Mafia Queens of Mumbai points out that crime is sometimes more present in our every day life then we care to admit. Most people instinctively abhor crime and violence, but will recognize that corruption is a part of daily life. Corruption is often rooted at the top of any government. If the governments are corrupt, are criminals really the bottom of the society? Who is the greater bad guy, the one who steals hundreds or the one that steals billions? This book perhaps does not ask these questions directly, but these questions are still valid.

I feel this book takes a non-judgmental approach to a number of ladies involved with crime, in other words it humanizes them. It is not scandalous, it is human. Often books about crime or mafia are a bit on the dramatic side, this one feels a bit more realistic. How deeply rooted in fact it all is I can't tell, but I feel that this book really tells the stories of women from the ganglands. The stories feel authentic. Many of these women are mother or godmothers, either playing into motherly roles or being strong matriarch to their family. One of the writers of this book actually bribes a man (repeatedly) into telling him about these mafia queens. It is also questionable how 'realistic' these reports are. Are people embellishing the story to get a better tip or bribe? Maybe the fact that some stories are embellished makes them more authentic. It means that is how the stories live in the public mind. That is relevant, too. It is relevant how regular people remember these 'mafia queens' and what they think of them. 

The exact factually of each story is kind of hard to tell. The authors themselves often leave it open. They do not try to give you all the answers. They admit they are not sure of some things themselves, despite the research and all.  There was certainly  a lot of research done for this novel. It is sometimes described as a non-fiction novel. I personally always found that expression puzzling. As a teacher of literature, I can't make piece with any definition of a novel that would not call it a work of fiction. Therefore, I would just call this book a novel based on real stories or a literary biography. What is wrong with the term literary biography? 

striped hat, diy painted vintage blazer, vintage red shirt, zara striped mini bag, oxford shoes  and crossover bag. 

This book is written by two journalist who both dedicated it to their parents!

I love that both authors wrote a dedication to their parents. I feel it captures the feeling of the book. Many of the characters in this books are parents themselves or act the rule of parents. I will talk about that a bit later, but let's first talk of authors. 

Who wrote this book? This book is written by two Indian journalist and authors: Syed Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges. S. Hussain Zaidi is an Indian author and an investigative journalist and so is Jane Borges. The introduction to this non fiction novel describes Hussain Zaidi as a veteran journalist and Jane Borges as a promising young journalist. I looked for both Hussain Zaidi and Borges online, and was happy to find they have written more books following this one. So, I plan to read more from both of them. Hussain Zaidi is practically a legend of crime reporting and Jane Borges is a rising star, having reportedly started her journalist career at eleven years old. 

The reviews and articles on this book sometimes list only S. Hussain Zaidi as the author. From what I understood and found online, both are credited as authors. The original research was done by Jane Borges, and S. Hussain Zaidi expanded on that and wrote the book. So, both can be rightfully claimed as authors. 

A little quotation from this book containing a bit more information on the authors. To find out more, you can just google them: 

"S. Hussain Zaidi is a veteran journalist...His earlier bestselling book Black Friday, based on the Mumbai serial blasts of 1993, was made into an acclaimed film of the same name by Anurag Kashyap. Alex Perry, while reviewing the book for Time magazine, said: ‘The undeniable strength of Black Friday is the depth and intelligence with which Zaidi portrays the bombers themselves. In penetrating this closed world, Zaidi ridicules the shorthand caricature of terrorists so popular nowadays: that they are “evil”, “fanatic” or “mad”.’ ....

.....Jane Borges is a Senior Sub-Editor on the news desk of The Asian Age, Mumbai bureau. Jane started her journalistic career with Times of Oman at the age of eleven while she was schooling in Muscat. During her five-year stint as a columnist Jane won several awards before she finally returned home to Mumbai at the age of sixteen...."

So, let us talk about this book. It is divided into chapters that tell the stories of thirteen women and their lives. This book is not a story of their crimes. The authors neither absolve them nor judge them for their criminal activities. 

What I liked the most is how they were not represented as victims but rather as complex individuals. Each story is different. Some women are elderly matriarchs who having retired as criminals, still use their connections with the police to intervene on behalf on their loves ones. Some women take to crime out of desperation, because their husbands were not providers and they had no other options but to feed their children. The stories are really diverse. They feature women of different religions, ethnic groups and ages. Sometimes the women are driven to crime by desperation, sometimes they make their own choices. Some women turn to crime for greed, others to feed their families. Some swim like fish in water when it comes to dealings with the police, bribing their way to the top, and becoming trusted informers or double agents. Some women are respected members of their respective communities, other and shun in every way or isolate themselves for their own reasons. Some women have children who look up to them, some have children who abhor crime and hate them. Some women have biological children, some don't.  Some women manage to rise to being a crime lord, but end up being betrayed by their families. Some are captured by the enemies they escaped for a long time. Some managed to retire. Some fight against human trafficking. Some found friends and love only to lose them and some kept them. 

“My wife is in the heroin business and I am not on good terms with her,’ Devendra said. Jayshree, who was also upset with her mother’s attempts to keep her away from her lover and force her into the drug trade, also decided to stand witness against her. Papamani was finally convicted and put behind bars in 2004. It was ironic that the two people for whom Papamani earned turned against her. While she had so many followers, none of them were in her family.”
Hussain S. Zaidi and Jane Borges, Mafia Queens of Mumbai

Each story is fascinating in its own way. The book is captivating. Every women comes from a different background and makes different choices. None of them are pictured as perfect. All of them are human. As I said, I really liked that, even if at times I felt like the book glossed over their criminal activities, taking a more sympathetic view. Still, I liked that this book does not judge them but rather portrays all these women are real individuals who make their (sometimes flawed) choices. For some of these women, life of crime is all it remains. Crime is lemons that life gives them and out of that they make lemonade, that is, their lives. 

One of the women who seems to make the most of what she got is Jenabai, born Zainab Darwesh Gandhi. According to many, Jenabai was the first Mumbao mafia queen. She started selling rice to feed her five kids, and soon instead of rice she sold liquir. She became known as the liquir lady, that is Daruwali. Jenabai was supposedly affectionately called auntie (apa) in the underworld, and powerful crime lords often sought her advice. She is also known to have been a peacemaker at times. 

Her story was one of my favourite ones. I think it is because Jenabai really had no choice. She was left alone with five kids and was trying to put food on the table. There is no excuse for crime, they say but life is complex. I liked how Jenabai is portrayed as someone others rely on and ask for help. From what I found online, Jenabai was the first women to really rise to such a high position in mafia. Jenabai found a place for herself in an extremely harsh world. 

“Jenabai knew how much it must have cost Mastan to admit his helplessness in resolving the issue. He was always conscious of his public image—perhaps because he was defensive about his lack of education—and hated to appear anything but wise.”

There was also a story that I both liked and disliked. It is story of Ashraf life. It is basically a story of a woman who after death of her beloved husband decides to seek revenge for his death. Ashraf decides to infiltrate the underground in order to revenge the death of her husband.

“Then the old man said something that set the ground for the change that would occur in Ashraf's life: ‘Don’t you want to take revenge?” 

Mafia Queens of Mumbai

Initially, this story appealed to me. However, as time passed by it started to feel so predictable. Wait, isn't it a real story? It supposedly is, but there was a romantic element to it and the romance part did not appeal to me. Long story short, there is a criminal who helps Ashraf and falls in love with her in the process. I don't know, that part just didn't work. I don't know how true it was, but the whole thing looked a bit unrealistic to me. Again, I know that it is at least based on a real person, but it did not feel real. I think it was just the writing style in this one for me. Somehow it didn't work. 

Diy heart painted beige blazer, vintage sweater, vintage striped scarf, black leggings, oxford shoes, crossover bag

Finally, let's talk about Gangubai chapter. The trailer to the Gangubai film is what inspired me to read this book. The chapter about Gangubai did not disappoint. It was brief, but I knew that will be the case. 

The chapter did not disappointed. It is a good introduction to the story of Gangubai.  It was certainly enough to peak my interest in this fascinating historical person. I even found some interviews with children Gangubai supposedly adopted online. She is clearly remembered and loved in her community. There are many individuals (orphans) who grew up calling her mom.

 Gangubai's fight against human trafficking really touched my heart. Her efforts to protect prostitutes from abuse and horrors they experienced daily were (and still are)  worth praise. You can look her up if you want to know more about her. 

Are there differences between the film Gangubai Kathiawadi and the Gangubai chapter from the book Mafia Queens  of Mumbai? 

There are differences but also many similarities.  The film was clearly inspired by this chapter from the book. It can be seen in so many ways. The film of course goes into more details. Furthermore, the film perhaps offers a more idealized version of Gangubai.

 The book (that is the chapter in the book devoted to Gangubai) acknowledges her accomplishments in fighting for human rights, but it is also open about her ties with mafia. The film perhaps makes her ties with mafia appear more like an accidental side effect of her  friendship with mafia don Karim Lala. Furthermore, the chapter says nothing about her fighting an opponent named Raziabai. That character from the film is fictional and is not featured in this chapter. 

Are there any other differences? Yes, there are. Gangubai in the chapter is presented as a mafia queen with a kind heart, whereas the book presents her more as a human rights fighter and activist who had a profound influence on India. The truth is perhaps somewhere in between the two. Alternatively, we can say these are two different views on one woman. 

One of the most fascinating things about both the movie and the book chapter for me was the friendship between mafia don Karim Lala and Gangubai. Both the 2021 film and the 2011 book present their relationship as that of a sister and brother. However, their meeting is described a bit differently in the Gangubai chapter and in the Gangubai film. 

In the book, there is a little introduction to the character of don Karim Lala. It describes him as a family man who has a reputation for defending the innocent (mainly women and children). So, the chapter describes him as someone who is respected in the community for his moral qualities despite being a criminal lord. He is also describes as being a man of faith, that is, a religious family men. 

In the film, there is no such direct description but there are many hints. His character is proved with his actions. Karim Lala's religious feelings are expressed in a number of scenes (such as Gangubai comes to visit him while he is celebrating Eid). 

The initial meeting between Karim Lala and Gangubai Kathiawadi is described a bit differently as well. In the chapter, Gangubai approaches him in front of his home and tries to offer her services in exchange for protection and being a family man Karim Lala rejects her. However, both in the film and the chapter, Karim Lala is horrified to see her injuries and vows to protect her.

Both the film and the book portray their relationship as that of perfect friendship. Gangubai and Karim Lala act as a brother and sister to one another. That was portrayed well both in the book and the film, but of course in the film it was portrayed in more detail. 

My art vs. my outfits collage

Now, it is finally time for my Gangubai Kathiawadi film review!

As I said, I came across music from this film on Youtube. I watched the music videos, and soon they found a place for themselves on my playlist. I listened to the film soundtrack for a few days, and then I found the book. I would have probably watched the film right away, but I don't have Netflix. So, I only watched it some time after I had read the book. By that time, I watched many clips from the film on YouTube. I knew how the story ends and all that. Still, the film did not let me down. 

A bit more information about the film- and I will use wikipedia and imfor the names I haven't managed to remember.  Gangubai Kathiawadi was released is a 2022, but the production started in 2019 (the Covid slowed it down. The director is Sanjay Leela Bhansali and the producers are Bhansali and Jayantilal Gada. I'm not very familiar with their work, but I might see more of it soon. This film definitely renewed my interest in India cinematography.  In a nutshell, this Indian Hindu film tells the story of a teenager girl from a lawyer family in Kathiawad who was tricked and sold by her boyfriend, human trafficked and forced into prostitution but managed to not only survive but  become a madam and an influential figure in both the underground and the Bombay's (Mumbai's) red-light district. Moreover, she worked to save the girls who were sold into prostitution and prevent human trafficking. The protagonist of this film, the legendary Gangubai was portrayed by Alia Bhatt. She really owned her role. Not surprisingly, Alia received awards and prize for her work in this the title role. She truly is the star of this film in every way.  Other actors and their performances were highly praised as well. 

The 2022 Gangubai Kathiawadi film features inspiring performances by Shantanu Maheshwari, Vijay Raaz, Indira Tiwari, Seema Pahwa, Jim Sarbh and Ajay Devgn. I already wrote about Karim Lala as an important figure in the life of both book and film Gangu. Well, Ajay Devgn played Rahim Lala to perfection. Of course one could say that his portrayal of a mafia don and Gangubai's sworn brother was too good. It is hard to believe that any mafia don would be such a good person, but in this film he is practically a saint and Ayay plays him as a true gentlemen. It is important to remember that this character is probably only loosely based on the real Karim Lala. 

As I said, this film probably took some creative liberties, but they can be justified by its artistic vision. All films take creative liberties.  I have to also especially praise Jim Sarbh's performance as Hamid Faizi, an Urdu publication journalist who becomes Gangubai's friend and supporter. The performance of Gangubai's love interest played by Shantanu Maheshwari was also praised and with the reason. He is realistic in his role of Afsaan Badr-ur-Razzaq, a simple tailor from Calcutta who comes to Mumbai and becomes enchanted by Gangubai who is in turn charmed by his innocence and shyness.  The female performaces are just as impressive. Indira Tiwari positively shines as Kamli, a prostitute that befriend Gangu in their brother and is later on portrayed as Gangu's best friend and someone who really cares for her.

The criticism and reception for this movie has been extremely positive. The film received praise for cinematography, actor performance, casting, photography, music and pretty much everything about it. Still, there were a few questions raised about it. There has been some criticism about this film being a glossed up and idolized version of Gangubai Kathiawadi life. I suppose the critics are referring to the fact that Gangubai is presented in almost a saint like manner. Moreover, some complained that once she overcomes her initial difficulties, her life just seems to go uphill. I disagree with that. The film actually portrays her heartache through the film. Gangubai suffers, but in a silent manner. She suffers from a lack of family life, from the inability to become a traditional wife, from losing her status as a traditional daughter and a family member. Gangubai finds family in the women she protects. 

Gangubai Kathiawadi is an uplifting film whose star Alia really shines in her role. 

I really found this film to be uplifting. Gangubai Kathiawaidi is an incredibly touching story, and it leaves a positive feeling even while talking about serious issue. There are not a lot of film on human trafficking that you can call uplifting. Of course, this film is more a biography of one woman than a story about human trafficking but it is a topic that is highlighted. I will talk more about it later. The bottom line is that I don't really care if it is completely factual or not. Adaptation of any book or life story will tells the story through the vision of the director. That is what films are- joint efforts of a number of people directed by an artistic vision of the director. The vision of the director resulted in a film that feels uplifting. It is also beautifully directed. The music and the costumes are breath-taking. 

The film opens with Gangubai being called to talk to a pre-adolescent girl who has been sold into the prostitution. Gangubai arrives in a luxury car shoffered by a private driver, the car and her appearence being in a stark contrast with the surrounding of the red light district. Gangubai is dressed in an expensive white sari, a perfectly groomed lady, caring a lovely bag filled with sweets and her signature drink of choice. 

The little details shown in the film really  highlight her high status in the society, the way people respond to her shows why she was known as the president of the area. Gangubai  greets people in different languages (Hindu and Urdu) and according to different religions greetings (Muslim & Hindu) showing her as someone respected by both communities. This is in accordance with the book and the research done by the journalist. The book especially stresses the multi religion and ethnic identity of idea. The women of the book (Mafia Queens of Mumbai) form friendships and alliances that are not based on religion, but trust. 

Anyhow, when this apparently rich and powerful lady arrives to talk to this young girl who has been beaten and chained, it is clear that she resents the way the young girl was treated. She offers her water, the girl refuses. Gangubai insists, and starts telling her own story. Bai is a suffix meaning lady in Hindu. Gangu was once Ganga, but changed her name after being trafficked. In the movie, Gangu does it of her free will, but it is possible it was thought that as a prostitute cannot have a name of a holy river. Gangubai tells her story and I have to admit I had to pause the film at times to get through it. This is perhaps the only really dark part of the movie. 

a collage made from images from the  2022 film 

The film is absolutely based on the book, that is a book chapter, that presents  Gangubai as a young naive but educated girl coming from a well to do,  lawyer family. Both the book and the movie imply that as a teenager she was obssessed  with Hindi cinema and wanted to star in Bollywood. Unfortunately, her predator (her father's accountant) took advantage of her dreams and manipulated her into escaping from her family. All of this is shown in the film and retold as a framed narrative. Gangubai tells this story to the girl who was sold by the men she eloped with. Almost all the women in the red light district have the same story to tell- they eloped with a man who married them and then sold them into sex slavery. It is a wide spead phenomenon. Gangu also explains to the girl that girls who manage to espace are often killed by their own family or communities as honour killings.  Knowing all of this, it was paintful to watch the young sixteen year old Gangubai (played brilliantly by Alia) being charmed by her predator and agreeing to escape. The film showed her as a naive girl who eloped to Mumbai with her suitor, Ramnik Lal, married him, but right at the start there are signs that it will end badly. This part of the film when she was deceived and sold to a Kamanthipura brothel was paintful to watch. I even had to stop the film and come back to it. I felt so bad for her, especially knowing that there is no escape from such a fate. Her story really broke my heart.

However, Gangu is a survivor. You can see her absolutely crushed by her fate at the start. A young educated girl thrown into a gutter. Still, little by little she fights back. She fights for the rights of the prostitutes. They are really more victims of human trafficking then sex workers. It is a horrible fate. They cannot escape and their living conditions are subhuman. As Gangu gains more and more influence, she becomes a leader for the women in the brothel. They flock around her and she protects them. The defying moment is when Gangubai is taken under the wing by a mafia lord. 

 Her friendship with  Karim Lala, a powerful crime lord gives Gangubai influence she used to protect other women.  As the film progresses, the bettering of life of sex workers becomes an obssession for Gangubai. She does all she can to protect them. Everything she does, she does for them. Yes, she is portrayed as tough. She fights and schemes, bribes the cops like everyone else. She does everything to win the elections. However, at the core there is always her need to help. She is a mafia queen with a golden heart. Gangubai has constant support in Karim Lala. It seems to have been a real friendship. It is even said she that Gangubai tied a rakhi around his hand (a Hindu tradition), signaling she sees him as a sibling. According to Wikipedia and other sources, Gangubai did try to save young girls from prostitution. There are indeed reports showing her saving trafficked girls like the young ‘Madhu’ from the film. It is great that the film opened with this as it ties with things we know to be historically accurate. Moreover, the framed narrative works so well for this film. 

A collage with my art and a photograph from the film

Thank you for visiting! The location for the photographs is Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Photographs of me are by my husband. Art and collages are my own.