Gangubai Kothewali

Gangubai Harjeevandas (1907 – 8 September 1977), better known as Gangubai Kothewali or Gangubai Kathiawadi, She gradually ended up operating her own brothel and is known to also have lobbied for the rights of commercial sex workers.

Early life Gangubai was sold into prostitution at the age of 16, in 1923, by her suitor, Ramnik Lal, after running away from home to Bombay. By the age of 25, she became known as a prominent figure, Madame of Kamathipura due to her involvement in managing sex workers in the district and her reported associations with elements of the city’s criminal underworld.

Mafia Queens of Mumbai (2011) by Hussain Zaidi contains information on the lives of thirteen women who influenced Mumbai. In it, Zaidi also gives information about Gangubai. According to this, Gangubai was from a highly educated family, wanted to work in films, and was also a fan of Dev Anand. At the age of 16, Gangubai fled to Mumbai with her 26-year-old suitor Ramnik Lal, where they got married. Within a few days of the marriage, her husband sold her in a kuntankhana (brothel) for . Reluctantly, Gangubai started working as a prostitute. Since her original name "Ganga" is associated with the sacred Ganga River, she later began using the name "Gangu", a colloquial shortened form of her birth name.

At a women’s conference at Azad Maidan, she reportedly stated that the stigma surrounding prostitution had “saved the chastity, integrity, and morality of several thousands of women” and argued that sex workers should be treated as equals.

In response to the degrading attitude common towards prostitutes, Gangubai also reportedly claimed at the same conference that “The only solution to the problem is by treating sex workers as equals. The day you manage to do this, I will believe that society has achieved ‘women empowerment’”

The 2022 Indian Hindi-language film Gangubai Kathiawadi is based on the life of Gangubai Kothewali and a chapter of Zaidi's book, and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali with actress Alia Bhatt playing the titular character. The film’s portrayal of Gangubai places emphasis on elements such as glamour, status, and personal resilience. It depicts her involvement in local activism and her opposition to social constraints, but also simplifies or reframes certain elements, including her connections to the criminal world of the period. As a result, the on-screen representation presents a more cohesive version of her life than the sometimes conflicting circumstances documented in historical accounts.

In addition to these characterisations, the movie depicts Gangubai engaging in several activities connected to community welfare and local advocacy. These include organising weekly rest days for sex workers, presented as an attempt to establish more structured working conditions, and accompanying children to school to contest their exclusion from local education.

A 2025 scholarly article claims that the film’s imaginative interpretation of events and characterisation enlarges the legacy of Gangubai Kothewali, framing her life as a “classic tale” of a selfless community leader. The study argues that this adaptation has played a significant role in shaping how Gangubai is now popularly remembered, specifically as a figure advocating for the dignity and acceptance of sex workers.