We were mighty impressed with Madhuri Dixit-Nene and Juhi Chawla after seeing the promos of Gulaab Gang. But after watching a clip of Nishtha Jain’s documentaryGulabi Gang, that has surely changed. We are upset, not because the promo was not good, but at the fact that the commercial movie seems fully copied from the documentary. But director Soumik Sen insists that his film, Gulaab Gang is definitely different from Nishtha Jain’s project. How? And will one win over the other? Both movies have ladies in pink seeking justice in various ways.
First: Gulaab Gang has been produced by Anubhav Sinha and Abhinay Deo and thus, will be well funded. On the other hand, Gulabi Gang is self-financed by its director and thus, has been made on a shoestring budget. It is very recently that the documentary found promoters in Sohum Shah and Anand Gandhi; before that even its marketing efforts were minimal.
Second: Gulaab Gang, as the makers have said, is fiction. Thus, the characters portrayed by the two leading ladies are not real, though they may be based in fact. Gulabi Gang is a documentary and is sure to tell the story of real-life people in a realistic manner, warts and all. It will very likely not have actors re-enacting incidents, but will allow the real life stories to be told by those involved.
Third: By the look of it, Gulaab Gang is a copy of Gulabi Gang. The promos suggest that, but the makers of the Madhuri-Juhi film deny it. Sampat Pal Devi, the leader of the real Gulabi Gang, has said that she was neither asked about the facts, nor was her permission taken for using her story by the makers of the Bollywood movie. As a result, she plans to move the court to put a stay on the release. In contrast, the Gulabi Gang filmmaker shot with the real group in real locations and therefore, will have no apprehensions of legal tangles.
Fourth: Gulaab Gang releases a couple of weeks after Gulabi Gang, which might not work in favour of the fictional film. Audiences will have already seen the real deal and later on, may not feel connected to a story enacted by Madhuri and Juhi.
Fifth: Gulaab Gang is going to have a theatrical release in full Bollywood style. It is likely to be seen by people from across the globe, whereas Gulabi Gang is sure to see only a limited release, to be seen by either the multiplex audience or tech-savvy Internet-connected viewers.