Helmed by celebrated filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Gangubai Kathiawadi is one of the most successful films of 2022, which featured Alia Bhatt in the titular role. The actress received a great response for her powerful performance in the film. Bhansali, who is known for delivering several blockbusters in the past, also garnered praise from all around the world.
However, National Film Award-winning actress Vidya Balan has questioned why only Bhansali walked away with all the credit for the humongous success of Gangubai Kathiawadi. She suggested that misogyny is the reason why Alia Bhatt did not receive the same kind of appreciation and praise that most male actors would after delivering a successful film at the box office.
“How come Gangubai (Kathiawadi) did well? If a woman’s film does well, it’s the director’s credit, and this is ridiculous,” she said during an appearance on a roundtable interview conducted by Film Companion.
The actress went on to add, “We worked so hard as women to have a certain standing today, where we are headlining films. More and more actresses are doing that. I love how post-pandemic, because the men’s films aren’t working, they suddenly turn around and say that the women’s films aren’t going to work all the more. How ridiculous! I really want to say, ‘What about Gangubai?’ It did more than most male-driven films.”
In an earlier interview with Film Companion, Balan had said “The pandemic has become an easy excuse for people to say that now female-led films will not work in the theatres, because basically, our industry is going through some kind of flux where a lot of our films are bombing, terribly. And they are your so-called, male hero-led films. But who takes the beating is the female-led films.”
Meanwhile, as per a release from the makers, Gangubai Kathiawadi is being submitted for the prestigious British Academy Film (BAFTA) Awards 2023 in all categories.
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Alia Bhatt at the Red Sea Film Festival where she spoke about the scale of Alpha Getty Images 
