Alia Bhatt's 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' premieres at Berlin Film Festival

Indian filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali was able to draw on his childhood memories to make "Gangubai Kathiawadi", a blockbuster adaptation from the book "Mafia Queens of Mumbai", about Gangubai, a sex worker turned champion of women's rights.

The acclaimed director's first collaboration with renowned actress Alia Bhatt, which premieres at the Berlin Film Festival on Wednesday, chronicles Gangubai's rise from a vulnerable sex worker to a powerful man in the city's red light district.
Based on a chapter from the book by S Hussain Zaidi, the film was beset with difficulties from the beginning.

Making his third appearance in Berlin, Alia Bhatt said that "her performance was born out of long conversations with Bhansali - who had a very specific vision that required the star to deepen his voice.

He wanted me to get a foundation in my voice because I have a slightly higher pitch, especially when I speak with energy and it sounds a little childish, he wanted weight. He wanted intensity." 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' to be released in cinemas on February 25...Reuters