Vidya Rani (born Zubeida Begum) (1926 – 26 January 1952), often known as Zubeida or Zubeidaa, was an Indian actress.
Early life
Zubeida Begum was the daughter of Qasembhai Mehta, a
Bohra Muslim businessman, and his wife Faiza Bai, a singer in
Bombay
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
.
Personal life
A
Shia Muslim
Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...
by birth, Zubeida converted to
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
according to
Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj () is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda Saraswati founded the samaj in the 1870s.
Arya Samaj was the first Hindu ...
rites to marry Maharaja
Hanwant Singh of
Jodhpur
Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...
, on 17 December 1950, in
Bombay
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
. She took on the name Vidya Rani and moved to Jodhpur. She gave birth to the couple's son,
Rao Raja Hukum Singh (also known as Tutu Bana), in Bombay on 2 August 1951.
She also had a son,
Khalid Mohamed
Khalid Mohamed is an Indian journalist, editor, film critic, screenwriter and film director. He worked for The Times of India for 27 years and then DNA followed by Hindustan Times and was the lead editor for Filmfare magazine. He is the s ...
, from her first marriage. A film critic, Mohamed wrote the screenplay for the film ''
Zubeidaa
''Zubeidaa'' is a 2001 Indian film directed by Shyam Benegal and written by Khalid Mohammed. It stars Karisma Kapoor, Rekha, Manoj Bajpayee, Surekha Sikri, Rajit Kapoor, Lillete Dubey, Amrish Puri, Farida Jalal, and Shakti Kapoor. A.R. Ra ...
'' (2001), directed by
Shyam Benegal
Shyam Benegal (14 December 1934 – 23 December 2024) was an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. H ...
, loosely based on her life.
Death
Zubeidaa was killed with her husband in an airplane accident on 26 January 1952 at
Sumerpur Godwar
Gorwar or Godwar, (in different periods also was called Chandravati Kingdom, Sirohi State) is a region of Rajasthan state in India, which lies in the southwest Rajasthan and borders with the state of Gujarat. Geography
Gorwar stretches along ...
, Rajasthan.
After her death, Tutu was brought up by Rajmata of Jodhpur. He later went to study at
Mayo College in Ajmer. He married Rao Rani Rajeshwari Kumari, daughter of Rao Raja Daljit Singh, of
Alwar
Alwar ( Rajasthani Pronunciation: �lʋəɾ is a city located in India's National Capital Region (NCR) and the administrative headquarters of Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. It is located 150 km south of Delhi and 150 km ...
. The couple had one son, Parikshit Singh (b. 1974) and one daughter, Jainandini Kanwar (b. 1975).
On 17 April 1981, Tutu was found beheaded on the streets of Jodhpur.
Till date, legend persist that her unsatisfied soul haunts the palace and the
royal family's school near the palace. Several rooms in the school are sealed with huge locks, allegedly holding her dancing spirit.
References
Bibliography
*
Indian film actresses
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in India
1926 births
1952 deaths
20th-century Indian actresses
Converts to Hinduism from Shia Islam
Indian former Shia Muslims
Dawoodi Bohras
Indian Ismailis
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1952
Converts to Hinduism from Islam
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