Watched Gangubai Kathiawadi today on the big screen. Total waste of time and money. Too much of hamming and unnecessary melodrama. The only thing that captured my interest was the dances and the location they showed. The Kamathipura red light area was beautifully portrayed. I was in that area during one of my walks and it was a close representation. The storyline was not engaging enough and the characters were nearly reduced to caricatures due to the over the top acting. I like Alia Bhatt but here she looked too artificial and forced. Ajay Devgn is good but could not save this film. The lone saving grace was Jim Sarb and the television heart throb Shantanu Maheshwari. They were splendid in their short but important roles. Shantanu is really adorable! The luxury cars looked spectacular and the dances were amazingly picturized.

I have nothing against the real life shero who fought against the oppressors and made life more bearable for the prostitutes and challenged the people who exploited their miseries. She was an iron lady who led by action and was admired by one and all for her guts.

I feel the casting was too far-fetched. Aalia Bhatt did not look convincing enough in this role. The story dragged in many places. Probably an actress who is a bit more mature in this field would have done an outstanding job according to me. It's not just about the age as we have seen Anupam Kher shine the brightest in his role of a grieving father in the movie Saraansh. I am talking about maturity in acting that Aalia Bhatt lacked for this particular role. She is undoubtedly an amazing actress otherwise.

My verdict, please give this one a miss. I regret watching this one. I nearly dozed off three times!