Shyam Benegal’s ’’Zubeidaa’’ is the story of a Muslim girl which happens to be a reel-life version of a real story. The movie takes us through the journey of Zubeidaa’s life in a flashback, where in her grown up son sets out to unearth the life and facts of his mother who has abandoned him at a very early age. Unlike Shyam Benegal’s other movies, the movie is rich and colourful.
Zubeidaa, is the only daughter of a filmmaker (Amrish Puri). Zubeidaa’s aspirations of becoming an actress and living life on her own terms clash with her father’s ideals. The father gets her married to his friend’s son against her wishes. However the marriage does not last long, eventually leading to a heartbreaking separation, which leaves behind a shattered Zubeidaa with her new-born son. Zubeidaa then happens to meet the Maharaja Vijendra Singh (Manoj Bajpai) through her father’s girlfriend Rose. Dazzled by her beauty, the Raja falls in love with Zubeidaa. He woos her to marry him. Leaving her son behind with her mother, she enters the royal world as second wife to the prince. The first wife is Mandakini (Rekha), she accepts Zubeidaa as choti Rani and teaches her the customs of royal family. As time passes, Zubeidaa’s joy fades away and she starts getting insecure and restless. She finds it hard to handle the pressures of royal life. Her insecurities mount when the Raja takes his first wife for the campaigning of elections in the state. She feels that the Raja’s passion for her is diminishing. Clashes begin between the two and situations lead to an untimely death of Zubeidaa and the maharaja in a plane crash.
The movie is sensitive and touching. Karishma Kapoor played the role of ’’Zubeidaa’’ with utmost perfection, undoubtedly a knockout performance. The character allowed her to explore a range of emotions. She was simply outstanding in some scenes. Rekha with all her style and grace suited the role. She delivered an effective performance, reinstating her calibre. Manoj Bajpai gave another good performance but it was hard for me to digest him in the role of a prince. Character artiste Surekha Sikri-Rege was impressive in the brief role of a mother and grandmother.
A.R.Rehman’s evoking music score and Javed Akthar’s pensive lyrics are an asset to the movie. Almost all the numbers in the movie succeeded in replicating the speechless poetry of the human heart in words. Infact, I was tempted to watch the movie after listening to the melodious hummable Lataji’s numbers, ’’pyar sa gaon’’ and ’’so gaye hai, so gaye hai dil ke afsane’’.
The script sort of lost its density in the second half but the director succeeded in keeping the viewer engaged with his classy touch. ’’Zubeidaa’’ is undoubtedly a sensible film with quality. A film that will stay with you for a while after you have seen it. A donot miss for all Shyam Benegal’s and Karishma Kapoor’s fans.