‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ teaser sees Alia in a stunning makeover

Though she  plays a gangster in  Gangubai Kathiawadi, Alia Bhatt doesn’t resort to one  swear word. And yet there is  something  inherently  menacing in  Alia’s transformation from the  angelic parts she has  played so far (even the spy  in Raazi  seemed shy to hurt a fly, even if the fly was Pakistani) .

Alia is  intrinsically  good natured and sophisticated. To  get her to be fully into this  boorish backstreet mode of a badass brothel siren is  no easy matter. Alia seems  to get  into the  accent, body  language  and her space in the period  pace  comfortably.

In the livewire editing evident  in the brief trailer,  the  mesmeric photography merging the  mobocracy  of  the  1960s in Mumbai’s red light area  Kamathipura  with the   autocracy of one  woman who dared to  have more balls  that her male criminal  colleagues.

Alia Bhatt ticks all the boxes  for an award-winning performance. She is gutsy and  unabashed. She  isn’t afraid to get out of her comfort zone. The teaser shows  her transition from brothel crime lord to hardcore politician with a fluency that is indicative  of  master movie maker at work.

I  don’t know  about you. But as a diehard fan of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s work , after seeing the  teaser I can’t wait to see more of  the  film.