On May 19, the Supreme Court pronounced a landmark judgement, recognising prostitution as a profession and emphasising that sex workers, like any other professionals, are entitled to dignity and constitutional rights. Notably, prostitution as a topic of discussion was recently brought into drawing-room conversations by the Bollywood movie Gangubai Kathiawadi directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and said to be based on the life of Gangubai Harjivandas, a much-celebrated social activist of Kamatipura.
Over the decades, filmmakers have delved into the lives of the sex workers to decipher the taboo associated with them. However, the question that arises is how authentic is this portrayal?
If we go back, then there was this film Mandi โit was one of the first movies made on prostitution and it was amazingly real. However, what I see is that this issue can't be displayed as it is because it is very intense and harsh. I think it is very difficult for the filmmakers to portray the reality. I think the film which was closest to the reality was Love Sonia, which was unfortunately rejected by the viewers.
At the same time if you see Gangubai Kathiawadi , in terms of commercial cinema it was definitely a big step. So, they loved it. They were crying, laughing, and they were like it happened to me, it happened to us. There were lot of things to which they could relate. Yes, there were things missing in the film but it was good enough for people to digest.
If they would have gone deeper then people might have rejected it like Love Sonia. Also, the film was appreciated more so because of the grandeur. Prostitution, in particular, is a closed industry that is largely concealed from most citizens view. We do not interact with them as much as we do with other professionals. Thus, media representations comprise a key means of shaping perspectives about both prostitutes as well as prostitution as an industry.
