In 1944, 16-year-old Ganga Jagjivandas Kathiawadi Alia Bhatt—born into a well-off Gujarati Hindu family in Kathiawad—dreams of a Bollywood career. She runs away with her older boyfriend Ramnik Laal Varun Kapoor, who promises to groom her for stardom under his aunt Sheela. But Ramnik proves to be a groomer who sells Ganga to Sheela’s brothel, where she is forced into prostitution and given the name Gangu. In those early days, she begins to push for workers’ rights, urging the women in the brothel to observe a day off each week, laying the groundwork for a voice that would grow louder with time.
One night, a sadistic local goon named Shaukat [Jahangir Khan] harms Gangu so severely that she ends up in the hospital. Seeking justice, she appeals to Rahim Lala [Ajay Devgn], the principled Afghan mafia boss who is struck by her poise and resolve. He declares her a sister and intervenes, brutally beating Shaukat when he resurfaces, an act that wins Gangu the admiration and loyalty of the other prostitutes in the district.
Nine years pass, and after Sheela’s death, Gangu rises to become the brothel’s madam, now widely known as Gangubai, and she commands influence across Kamathipura, Bombay’s infamous red-light district. Her leadership marks a shift in how sex workers are perceived and treated, as she leverages her position to protect her community and push for better living conditions.
In 1962, a young girl named Madhu from Ratnagiri District is sold into Kamathipura’s trade. Gangubai meets Madhu, listens to her story, and ultimately helps return her home, displaying a compassion that underscores her growing power and sense of justice.
Gangubai then turns to politics within the intimate world she has built. She contends in the Kamathipura presidential elections against the incumbent hijra Raziabai [Vijay Raaz], using Rahim Lala’s backing to expand her influence. To fund social improvements for the prostitutes, she orchestrates illicit alcohol sales from the brothel and broadcasts free Hindi films in their neighborhood to win support. She also arranges a marriage between Kusum’s daughter, Roshni, and a Bihari Muslim tailor named Afsaan, covering dowry costs and hosting a grand celebration, a move that broadens her base of support.
Gangubai’s campaign and victories lead to a broader fight for civil rights for sex workers. As she achieves formal recognition in Kamathipura, she also confronts personal heartbreak: she reconnects with her family only to discover her father has died, and her kin have never forgiven her for fleeing home years earlier.
A Navaratri festival becomes a flashpoint when Rahim warns of authorities planning to evict prostitutes from a nearby Catholic girls’ school area, and a developer’s push to demolish Kamathipura’s brothels to build skyscrapers intensifies the pressure. Gangubai refuses to let the vulnerable lose their home. She advocates for education, offering to enroll the girls in the school, paying their fees for five years, and championing education as a tool to abolish exploitation rather than force. Although a local journalist Hamid [not listed among the cast in the provided summary] helps publicize the issue, the nuns bar the girls on the first day after Hamid departs. Nonetheless, Hamid’s subsequent interview with Gangubai amplifies her cause, highlighting the double standards that condemn women while excusing the men who visit them. Meanwhile, Kamli, a close ally, dies after giving birth, and Gangubai takes in her child, Pammi, deepening her responsibilities beyond politics.
In the political arena, Gangubai delivers a groundbreaking speech at a feminist meeting held at Azad Maidan, denouncing the misogynistic stereotype that brands prostitutes as immoral while failing to hold the men who exploit them to account. The speech resonates, attracting a local politician’s support for her campaign and propelling a PIL in the Supreme Court. This momentum culminates in a meeting with the Prime Minister in New Delhi, where she advocates for the legalization and regulation of prostitution, arguing that Kamathipura’s residents face homelessness and constant discrimination. The Prime Minister agrees to form a committee to study the issue and pledges to shield the brothels from eviction. With this decision, Kamathipura’s brothels are protected, and Gangubai is hailed as a transformative force in her community, celebrated for turning her district into a place where dignity and rights for sex workers begin to take shape.
- Gangubai Kathiawadi Alia Bhatt
- Rahim Lala Ajay Devgn
- Shauqat Khan Pathan Jahangir Khan
- Raziabai Vijay Raaz
- Kamli Indira Tiwari
- Ramnik Laal Varun Kapoor
- Kusum Mitali Jagtap
- Afshan Badr-Razzaq Shantanu Maheshwari
- Birju Anmol Kajani
- Rama Pallavi Jadhav
- Nimmi Kruti Saxena
- Banno Sonal Sagore
- Tailor Baldev Tehran
- Liyaqat Faiz Khan
