SC suggests changing name of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ two days before film’s release

Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn’s upcoming film ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ has landed in legal trouble and the Supreme Court has now suggested that the name of the film be changed in light of the several cases pending before courts seeking to halt its release scheduled for Friday, February 25.

According to a report in Bar and Bench, a Bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and JK Maheshwari was hearing an appeal filed against a Bombay High Court order that extended the stay on summons issued by a Mumbai court in a criminal defamation complaint against Gangubai Kathiawadi producers, Alia Bhatt, and authors S Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges, who wrote the book on which the film is based.

The movie is set to release in theatres on Friday, February 25.

A petition by residents and a public interest litigation by Congress MLA Ameen Patel have been filed before the Bombay HC seeking stay on the release of the film till the area’s name Kamathipura is not removed from it.

Seeking stay on the release of the film, the pleas claims that the movie depicts the entire area of Kamathipura as a red light area and also defames the Kathiawadi community.

Earlier, Gangubai’s adopted son, Babuji Shah, had sought stay on the movie and also on the Book ‘Mafia Queens of Mumbai’.

The petition filed by over 55 residents of Kamathipura states that Bhatt’s depiction of Gangubai in the movie will reflect adversely on the entire area and the women and girls living there.

All women and girls living in the area will be termed as prostitutes and Kamathipura name will become synonymous with the red light area in public’s mind. Besides affecting the dignity of the residents, this will impact the mental health of people, read the plea.

Further, it claims that not only would the girls from the area be teased and taunted, they would not find suitable grooms, claims the plea by the residents.

Further, Patel’s plea points out that Kathiawadi is a community hailing from Saurashtra and Gujarat, many of whom are businessmen. “The term ‘Kathiawadi’ in the title and in the film shows the community women in poor light,”