Bhansali’s Love Letters to the Women of the Streets

By Mugdha Bele

Amongst many other themes, Bollywood’s depiction of courtesan culture and prostitution has always been engaging yet debatable. Tawaifs were respectful singers/dancers who entertained the nobility and the elites in India. Following the British colonisation, the tawaifs’ respect declined as they were looked down upon by the colonisers and forced into prostitution. Films like Mandi (1983), Chandni Bar (2001) and Talaash (2001) explore the experiences of women in this profession.

Others who did not turn to prostitution entered the film industry to make their name. The credit for setting the example of independent women goes to courtesans, as they joined the film industry and inspired many characters in films like Mughal-e-Azam (1960), Pakeezah (1972), Umrao Jaan (1981), Devdas (2002), etc. This obsession comes from the fact that the first female director, the first female producer, and the first female choreographer in Bombay cinema were all courtesans.

Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is a still from Devdas

Earlier, it was established that tawaifs were not prostitutes, but films like Pakeezah portrayed how the integrity of a tawaif was questioned, and she had to reform herself to prove herself ‘pure’ in order to get married. With time, the distinction between tawaifs and prostitutes began to blur.

Many filmmakers have since made films about such topics, one of them being the most celebrated filmmaker of our time, Sanjay Leela Bhansali. In an interview for his film, Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022), Bhansali mentioned that he grew up near Kamathipura and that the sight of prostitutes was a frequent occurrence in his childhood. He added how these stories have stayed with him, which makes it easy to understand why multiple films by him revolve around these topics.

Alia Bhatt in a still from Gangubai Kathiawadi

His films like Devdas (2002) and Bajirao Mastani (2015) show courtesan culture where the strong female characters who are courtesans fall in love with the protagonist. Both relationships are not well received by society, yet a contrast can be seen in these stories as one becomes a tragic love story and the other, a complete one.

One of his recent films, Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022), was showered with praise for narrating the gut-wrenching story of Gangubai, as she became one of the most influential and feared figures in Kamathipura.

Bhansali delved into the story of tawaifs in his latest Netflix series Heeramandi, which was faced with criticism due to its historical inaccuracies and poor storytelling. The audience accused it of glamourising a sensitive and nuanced topic like this.

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar

The major difference between the story of courtesans and the story of prostitutes is the respect they get in society, as the former are a dignified part of society and the latter are looked down upon. But one uniting factor can be their yearning for love and their encounters with it.

A major setback for these stories is the dramatisation of the narratives, which sometimes trivialise the experiences of people involved in or stuck in these professions. It leads to concealing the harsh realities and complexities of their lives, making it hard to differentiate what’s real and what’s construction. Overall, the need to tell these stories must be met with responsibility and sensitivity, considering their nuances and accuracy.