The on-going coronavirus pandemic has badly affected the Hindi film industry with shooting of many movies being stalled in middle. Sadly Alia Bhatt's much-anticipated movie Gangubai Kathiawadi, a biopic by Sanjay Leena Bhansali on the fierce madam of the Kamathipura brothels, is among the many Bollywood projects that had to call time on their shoots due to the announcement of lockdown.


Sanjay Leela Bhansali who is known for his grandeur had built elaborate sets for the movie in Filmcity, right before the lockdown which is unused over the past five weeks.

And as the situation in Mumbai continues to be serious, the filmmaker has now instructed the production team to arrange for its demolition, reads a report in Mid-Day.

A source close to the tabloid says, "In March, Bhansali had cleared the payment for the set maintenance. Even when the shutdown was announced, the team had assumed it would delay the schedule only by a month or so. However, with the situation in Mumbai looking grim, it is unlikely that the shoots will resume soon. After a round of number-crunching, it was seen that recreating the set would probably be a cheaper alternative than keeping it standing in these uncertain circumstances, as the latter entails the daily rent that has to be paid to Film City. So, the team has decided to have the set razed to the ground." When quizzed if shooting in real locations is a possibility, the source added, "The final call will be taken post the lockdown."

Starring Alia Bhatt in a lead role, Gangubai Kathiawadi is slated to hit the big screens in September 2020 but going by the current situation it looks unlikely if the film releases as scheduled.


Gangubai Kathiawadi is the story of the most infamous lady dons of Mumbai who was also was known for running a sex racket and was a courtesan herself.