Zubeidaa (2001)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Shyam Benegal

Writers:

Khalid Mohamed (screenplay)
Khalid Mohamed (story)

Release Date:

19 January 2001 (India)

Genre:

Musical | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The Story of a Princess

Plot:

Zubeida, an aspiring Muslim actress, marries a Hindu prince to become his second wife. Her tumultuous relationship with her husband, and her inner demons lead her to a decision which has fatal consequences for them all.

Plot Keywords:

Hindu | Muslim | Actress | Etiquette | Second Wife

Awards:

3 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Karisma Kapoor	...	Zubeidaa
Rekha	...	Maharani Mandira Devi
Manoj Bajpai	...	Maharaja Vijayendra Singh (Victor)
Rajit Kapoor	...	Riyaz Masud
Surekha Sikri	...	Fayyazi (as Surekha Sikri-Rege)
Amrish Puri	...	Suleiman Seth
Farida Jalal	...	Mammo
Shakti Kapoor	...	Dance Master Hiralal
Lillete Dubey	...	Rose Davenport
Ravi Jhankal	...	Girivar Singh
Smriti Mishra	...	Sardari Begum
S.M. Zaheer	...	Sajid Masud
Harish Patel	...	Nandlal Seth
Seema Bhargava
Parzan Dastur	...	Young Riyaz (Rizzu) (as Parzaan Dastur)

Runtime:

Australia:153 min

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi | Urdu | Rajasthani

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

India:UA | Australia:PG | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Film City, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Company:

F.K.R. Productions

Trivia:

The jewelry worn by Karisma Kapoor and Rekha in the film actually belonged to the Jaipur royal family. Both actresses were told to be very careful when wearing it.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The events of the movie are happening in the 1950s, around the time of decolonization, yet the prince Victor appears to be flying a 1982 model of Cessna 172.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bollywood/Hollywood (2002)

Soundtrack:

Hai Na

As real as the Film itself

Zubeida, is a classic film. In fact one of the best films to come out of the Hindi Film industry in recent times. All the aspects of the film, whether be it the taut and intelligent Direction (vintage Benegal ji), the music (the re-incarnation of R.D.Burman as modern age A.R. Rehman giving very popular and ever lasting amazing numbers, the haunting lyrics, the very original storyline, the entire canvass, was a cinematic treat. Of course the histrionic talents of Surekha Sikri, Amrish Puri, MAnoj Bajpai, Rajat Kapoor, Lillette Dubey amongst others combined with the deadly combination duo of my all time favourite actresses REkha and KArisma KApoor was deadly! In fact i can't thank Mr. Benegal enough for bringing these two great actresses in the same canvas and the result was there for everyone to see. KArisma, i would say, excelled is a low word, she just was as good as Smita Patil or Shabana Azmi would have been in the same role. The kind of Depth, the look, the innocence, the beauty, the charisma, the fear, the strength, the naivety, the revolt, the love - all these expressions and more that she displayed in this film were worth a NAtional Award at least if not the Oscar! Well, the Filmfare critics award made up for it. All in all a collector's item, a great always-to-be-remembered film.