Despite the fact that many people doubted her, Alia Bhatt delivered a powerful performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s biographical crime drama Gangubai Kathiawadi. The actress was hailed by critics and the public at large for her portrayal of a sex worker, and the film was a box office hit.
Alia’s acting prowess in the film astounded the audience, but very few people are aware that her mother, actress Soni Razdan, also starred in a film as a sex worker.
A fan posted a video clip from the 1983 release, Mandi, on Twitter and pointed out that Alia Bhatt as Gangubai Kathiawadi bears a striking resemblance to her mother, Soni Razdan, in the film.
In the late 70s @Soni_Razdan acted in #Mandi as sex worker, now @aliaa08 in #GangubaiKathiawadi , both have tremendous resemblance, both are best actresses. Soni then looks ditto Alia of now pic.twitter.com/i01cezXaU8
— QueenBee (@VaidehiTaman) May 29, 2022
When Razdan came across the post, she retweeted it too, calling it “a blast from the past.”
Oh gosh a blast from the past all right ! ☺️💕 https://t.co/sTie39wJ2w
— Soni Razdan (@Soni_Razdan) May 30, 2022
Meanwhile, several users agreed with the remark, noting that Bhatt looks nearly identical to her mother.
Alia to aap ki copy paste hai 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
— Immu (@sareefbaccha) May 30, 2022
Love this film <3
— Anuj ✨ (@AnujUnknown) May 30, 2022
Wow unreal resemblance!
— r ★ (@itzzRashmi) May 30, 2022
Omg i thought it was Alia from Gangu for a moment. Unreal
— amitjain002 (@amitjain002) May 30, 2022
Even the voice
— amitjain002 (@amitjain002) May 30, 2022
Mandi is such an excellent piece of work https://t.co/TkKMsbjh6k
— Harinder (Heer) (@harinder_virk) May 30, 2022
They look the same😭 even their expressions 🥺❤️ https://t.co/Zszhvt1fmJ
— aliaabhattlovely (@aliaabhattlove1) May 30, 2022
You both are twins even the voice is same 😭❤ https://t.co/8JWLXU8eWd pic.twitter.com/408Qlrjcab
— 🦋 (@Varshialia) May 30, 2022
Directed by Shyam Benegal, Mandi was set in a brothel in the heart of a city that certain politicians sought for a different purpose. The film, which was based on the short novel Aanandi by writer Ghulam Abbas, had a stellar cast involving Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Neena Gupta, Ila Arun, Naseeruddin Shah, and others.