Abstract

Khalid Mohamed, a journalist turns a screenplay writer on the insistence of Shyam Benegal to write the story of his real-life mother Zubeida. Zubeida aspires to be an actress. Her father arranges her marriage which ends with talaq. She leaves her son to live with a Hindu prince. Both die in an air crash. Riyaz, the reel Khalid who also happens to be a celluloid journalist-son, unfolds Zubeida's life based on the archives and accounts that were hidden, available, and explored. He chooses to reconstruct and understand his mother in the process as he had never seen her. An attempt is made to condone her violations of patriarchal norms, gender roles, religious sanctions, and social conventions. The myth of mystifying and victimizing transgressor-Muslim-women is reinforced through the biopic. The blame is placed on Zubeida and the uncontrollable forces for her denouement.

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