ZUBEIDAA (2000) Directed by: Shyam Benegal Music: A.R. Rahman Lyrics: Javed Akhtar Cast: Karishma Kapoor, Manoj Bajpai, Amrish Puri, Rekha, Surekha, Sikri-Rege, Lillette Dubey, Rajat Kapoor, Shakti Kapoor

This romantic story is told through the eyes of Riyaz (Rajat Kapoor), a young journalist raised by his grandmother. Riyaz knows nothing about the family who abandoned him when he was three and the heart of this story is his quest to piece together the life of his fiery mother, Zubeidaa, whom he never knew.

Zubeidaa is an unconventional young Muslim woman in the 1950s who dreams of working in films but is stopped by her strict producer father Suleiman Seth (Amrish Puri). Not only does Suleiman Seth stop her from joining films but also forces Zubeidaa to marry the son of a friend. When Zubeidaa gives birth to Riyaz, her husband decides to return to Pakistan, abandoning his young family. Some years later Zubeidaa meets the glamorous Rajasthani Maharajah Vijyendra Singh (Manoj Bajpai) and falls madly in love with him. Zubeidaa ultimately become the Maharajah's second wife but their love affair is doomed from the start.