The #GangubaiKathiawadiTrailer is all kinds of wow for Vijay Raaz. Though these images do remind me of Mary Ellen Mark's photo work in Falkland Road in 1978.
Bhansali, of course, knows how to copy and make it his own.
Say for example, the door's colour is the same, the mogra is in the hair, but the artwork on the door, the styling of the flower, that bears his chhaap, his stamp, and that's how he creates Bhansaliland.
Which is quite unlike, say, this gorgeous song, shot on location in Nana Patekar's Prahaar. Unglam, but then unfortunately it doesn't reach the mass.
Not identical, the transformation can be imagined. Vijaz Raaz as Razia Bai, not related to the other image of Ibrahim.
Incidentally, my mother heard of the dreaded Razia Bai, when mother worked as a courtesan in Foras road.
The street was also home to the glam trans community.
Mary Ellen Mark said how the girls hung out in Olympia Cafe. Hope it has been faithfully recreated.
This second image, I cross-checked with my mother, we happened to live close by in the 80s. She says there was a Dilli Darbar restaurant in the area in those days where the kamanewaali, and the tawaif intermingled.
Strangely, mother didn't hear of Gangubai Kathiawadi in the 80s, when mother frequented the Bacchu Seth Ki Wadi for her mujras.
She is curious to see what SLB has done in this film, moving from the kotha to the dhanda.
In other news, my second book, a memoir of my mother's life, titled The Last Courtesan, was due to be published by #Westland this summer after a long pandemic delay, but Amazon shut down the publishing company it owned a few days ago.
So until my excellent agent @kan_writersside finds a new home for my book, here's hoping the SLB film gives us a whole lot to enjoy. The trailer is lovely. The music, cannot even wait! ❤️
For those of you who are asking, please read this essay I wrote earlier if you'd like to invest you time in my book later. This is the story that got me the book deal. It might help you understand how the kotha is outside of films. 🙏🏼 arre.co.in/gender/womens-…
Funnily, yesterday, when I was writing about Bhansali, this cropped up in my FB memories, also thoda SLB connection. So 4 years ago, on this day, the journey of my book had started when these poems went thoda viral. Why am in resharing? Loha garam hai. 😷🙏🏼medium.com/@manishgaekwad…
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