indian celebrities: Zubeida Begum

Thursday 5 July 2012

Zubeida Begum

Zubeida Begum was an Indian film actress. She was married to Hanwant Singh, the Maharaja of Jodhpur. Born a Muslim and is the mother of film critic,Khalid Mohammed, who wrote the screenplay for the film Zubeidaa (2001), directed by Shyam Benegal, loosely based on her life and in which her role was essayed by Karishma KapoorOriginally from Surat, she was the daughter of Fatma Begum. She became a notable film actress and India's first woman film director and was the sister of actressess Shahzadi andSultana. In the presence of seasoned actors like Prithviraj Kapoor and Master Vithal, Zubeida blossomed and wowed everyone with her singing, dancing and her speech.Zubeida was one of Indian cinema's earliest superstars and among the few girls who entered films at a time when it was not considered an appropriate profession for girls from respectable families, let alone Royalty. Born in Surat, Zubeida was a stunningly beautiful princess, the daughter of the Nawab of Sachin and Fatima Begum. Zubeida and her two sisters, Sultana and Shehzadi, egged on by their actress mother who was to become India's first woman director, entered films at a very young age.