They reek of power, influence and notoriety. Meet the 5 gangsta girls onscreen Bollywood cinema (4 of them are based on real women too) and you’ll be fired up by their nonchalance, spunk and badass attitude.
Gangubai Kathiawadi
Actor- Alia Bhatt
When the trailer of the film dropped recently, it created a furore across the world. Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the film is based on a real-life character Gangubai, the matriarch of Kamathipura – Mumbai’s red-light area. The film is based on Hussain Zaidi’s book, Mafia Queens of Mumbai. Gangubai was a resident of Kathiawad in Gujarat and her real name was Ganga Harjivandas Kathiawadi. She ran away from home with her father’s accountant to Mumbai at the age of 16. He sold her to a brothel for Rs 500. She then became the rakhi sister of gangster Karim Lala and soon became one of the most successful female dons of India. She went on to operate a flesh-trade racket in Hira Mandi, owned a brothel in Mumbai’s Kamathipura, became a politician and worked for the rights of the women of her community.
Godmother
Actor – Shabana Azmi
Shabana Azmi embodies the character of Santokben Jadeja, who ran the mafia operations of Porbandar, Gujarat, in the late 1980s and early 1990s and later turned politician. The film released in 1999 and is a biographical drama directed by Vinay Shukla. The protagonist Rambhi is played by Shabana Azmi who is married to Veeram played by Milind Gunaji. When her husband dies, Rambhi turns to take part in mafia operations in Porbandar. She makes friends and some very powerful enemies. She gradually becomes ruthless and takes revenge on all her enemies. Back in her village where women had to struggle for water and there were numerous false promises from contractors about installing a pump, Rambhi makes sure she gets a tube well installed in the desert. Ultimately Rambhi gets killed at the hands of her enemies. The film won six national awards and the Filmfare award for Best Story.
Haseena Parkar
Actor- Shraddha Kapoor
The 2017 Indian biographical crime film is directed by Apoorva Lakhia and produced by Nahid Khan. The film is based on Dawood Ibrahim’s sister Haseena Parkar. The film marks Shraddha Kapoor’s first title role. Kapoor’s brother, Siddhanth Kapoor, portrays the role of Dawood Ibrahim, and Ankur Bhatia plays the role of Haseena’s husband. The film had a scene involving Siddhant getting beaten with a prosthetic belt that made Shraddha cry as it looked very real. Director Apoorva Lakhia added that the actress wept “endlessly” on seeing someone beat her brother for the first time.
Goliyon ki Raas Leela – Ram Leela
Actor- Supriya Pathak
When she was approached for the character Dhankor Baa in the film, Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, actress Supriya Pathak told its director Sanjay Leela Bhansali that she was already associated with a different image of ‘Hansa’ in the TV serial Khichdi, but he insisted on taking her in the 2013 film. Bhansali said there was a certain look in her eyes which can be tapped to portray characters with an evil bent of mind. “I think you suit the character Dhankor Baa the most,” he told her. The rest as they say is history. Supriya Pathak plays the gangster with great conviction and effect.
Fukrey
Actor: Richa Chaddha
Richa Chadha, in her 2013 film Fukrey, wowed the audience with her portrayal of Bholi Punjaban, a loudmouth, local don. Apparently, the character that won the hearts of many was inspired by the real-life racketeer, Sonu Punjaban also called Geeta Arora. It is also reported that The Dwarka District Court sentenced Sonu Punjaban to 24 years of jail. Sonu Punjaban, by the age of 20, was known in the entire North India and Richa worked on the role making it her own.