Zubeida was only 12 when she made her debut in
Kohinoor, which was a silent film at the time. Through the 1920s she made infrequent appearances on screen along with
Sultana who, by then, had become one of Indian cinema's loveliest and popular leading ladies. One of the films to star the two sisters was
Kalyan Khajina in 1924. They had also shared the screen in Zubeida's first blockbuster,
Veer Abhimanyu released two years earlier in 1922, that also had their mother, Fatma Begum, playing an important role. (1931) In 1925, Zubeida had nine releases, amongst them
Kala Chor,
Devdasi and
Desh Ka Dushman. A year later she starred in her mother's film,
Bulbul-e-Paristan. In 1927, she acted in
Laila Majnu,
Nanand Bhojai and Naval Gandhi's
Sacrifice which were very successful movies at the time. The latter, based on
Rabindranath Tagore's 'Balidan', also starred Sulochana Devi,
Master Vithal and Jal Khambatta. It condemned the age-old custom of animal sacrifice in certain
Kali temples in
Bengal, India. Members of the
Indian Cinematograph Committee were wowed by this "excellent and truly Indian film". Its
European members recommended that it be sent abroad for screening. She also worked in many silent films. Zubeida starred in a string of silent films before
Alam Ara proved to be the turning point in her career and was her biggest hit. Through the '30s and early '40s she made a hit team with Jal Merchant and starred in several successful historical epic films playing characters like
Subhadra,
Uttara and
Draupadi. She was also successful in portraying emotions with films such as
Ezra Mir's
Zarina, and
Shatir which had her playing a vibrant, volatile circus girl whose kisses scorched the screen and sparked heated debates on censorship. Zubeida was one of the few actresses to make a successful transition from the silent era to the talkies and natak. In 1934 she set up Mahalakshmi Movietone with
Nanubhai Vakil and had box-office bonanzas in
Gul-e-Sonobar and
Rasik-e-Laila. She continued to appear in one or two films a year from 1949 to 1953.
Nirdosh Abla was her last film. ==Personal life==