Positive note makes the difference

A RED cloth flutters in the sky, a poignant beginning to a turbulent love story. Capturing the medieval period and telling the saga of feudal lords, ``Zubeidaa'' is the story of a wilful woman who lived her life and later died on her own terms. Impulsive and insecure, desolate and confused, Zubeidaa is endearing and haunts you long after the film has ended. Through her one comes into contact with the characters who touched her life. The attractive and powerful Raja Vijendra Singh, King of Fatehpur, his restrained and enigmatic first wife, Mandira Devi, her terribly oppressive father Suleman, owner of a film studio, her mother who suffers in silence and the delicious aunty Rose, an actress, and her father's mistress.

Zubeidaa lives in a sprawling bungalow, has everything money can buy but is deprived of freedom and love. She desires stardom, but Suleman forcibly gets her married to his friend's son. A year later, the teenager has become a mother and through no fault of hers, is divorced by her cowardly husband. He is unwilling to oppose his father who is determined to migrate to Pakistan.

It is a lonely phase and that is when romance comes into her life. She follows it like a dream, paying a heavy price for happiness.

Her parents allow her to marry the Raja of Fatehpur on condition that she leaves the child behind with them. She agrees, hoping to come and collect her baby some day. But she doesn't. The son grows up pining for the mother he has never seen, determined to piece the puzzle together. In the process he encounters multiple heartbreaks. There are many questions he doesn't find an answer to, and there are many surprises as well. Mandira Devi presents him with the missing film reel of his mother's only song and he discovers that aunty Rose described as a vamp by his grandmother, is in fact gregarious and thoughtful.

What's interesting is that the film ends on a positive note. The son could have turned bitter after a life of turbulence. On the contrary, he is curious and compassionate, wondering what his mother wanted out of life and whether she attained it. He remembers her as a free spirit, as someone who celebrated life. Unlike Khalid Mohamed's two earlier scripts, ``Mammo'' and ``Sardari Begum,'' which are part of the trilogy, ``Zubeidaa'' is optimistic, instilling in one the faith to accept one's destiny and endure. Karisma Kapoor essaying the young and restless wife of the Raja, is scintillating. The screen lights up with her luminous presence. Equally effective is Rekha in a cameo as the older wife sustaining envy and hurt with dignity and pride.

Director Shyam Benegal proves that old guards don't wither away. They just get better with a bigger and glamorous canvas. There are no deprivations. The viewer comes away from the theatre with lingering memories of a fragrant love story.

With memorable music by Rahman and outstanding lyrics by Javed Akhtar recreating medieval times, the film belongs to Karisma Kapoor. Whether it's her explosive anger behind a transparent veil during the nikaah or the chilling outburst at the airport, she is sensuous, innocent, lethal and lonesome, completely in sync with the character. Her riveting performance is deserving of a National Award.

But the real hero of the film is the screenplay. Packaged in multiple layers and fragile in fibre, this unusual story of an unusual woman, by Khalid Mohammed is heartbreaking, with extraordinary insights into human relationships. The writer fondly takes you into the hearts of all his characters, passionate and with a lot of pain. This is one story on which he cannot be faulted.

Thought of the week

``Devdas'' was remade at least six times, twice by Barua himself, once by Bimal Roy (in 1955, with two great actors, Dilip Kumar Vyjayantimala). The film might have set out to be a cry of indignation at a patriarchal system which could thwart love with barriers of caste and class, but it is best remembered for its ambience, its air of fatalistic pessimism leading to an inability to act.

More importantly, by making women `sacred', by `desexing' love, ``Devadas'' was the source of an enduring theme in the treatment of women on the screen - goddess of vamp? This would leave a lasting impact on several generations of Indian film-makers. The portrayal of a masculine `hero' who is at once weak and immature, was celebrated for its novelty. - The Cinemas of India.

BHAWANA SOMAAYA

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