The kingdom may no longer exist, but intrigue refuses to leave the walls of Jodhpur's Umaid Bhawan. After his mother Zubeida became the subject of Shyam Benegal's controversial film, it is now the turn of the late Hukum Singh or "Tutu" himself to be in the news.

In film producer-director Ismail Merchant's autobiography My Passage From India, Tutu-the late son of Zubeida and the erstwhile Maharaja of Jodhpur Hanuwant Singh-emerges as a theatrical lunatic who disrupts an Umaid Bhawan dinner for Merchant and his crew by brandishing a sword. The passage in Merchant's book is written with tongue firmly in cheek but it has failed to amuse the family Tutu left behind; his wife Rajeshwari, son Parikshit and daughter Jayanandini Singh have moved the Delhi High Court against the publisher, Roli Books.

RAW NERVE: Jayanandini holds up a photo of Zubeida; Hukum Singh

Merchant is liberal with his sense of humour. He pokes fun not only at Tutu but also at the other erstwhile royalty of Jodhpur-the Rajmata, for instance, is shown as not being perturbed by the threat to her life but more interested in the jewels scattered during the confusion. Other helpless royals stare at the scene, calling out to servants in vain. As for Tutu, what Merchant says about him is not unlike what has been said before. Merchant says he was "butchered to death". It is common knowledge in Jodhpur that he had "a bad temper". And as Merchant's partner, director James Ivory, says, "That the incident happened is a fact. There were seven people in the room, including myself, who will be able to establish this." So why the court case?

Merchant can only shrug: "What I have written is nothing. There are a lot more stories about Tutu in Jodhpur. I don't know why they have taken offence to it.'' Jayanandini, now married to Vikramaditya Singh of Kota, Rajasthan, professes "deep hurt" and will only "speak through the lawyers". The family of the erstwhile Maharaja of Jodhpur Gaj Singh (Hanuwant Singh's other son) has also closed ranks and is refusing to speak.

What rankles, say sources, is one little word hidden away in the passage. Tutu, clearly the clown prince of Merchant's anecdote, is introduced early in the passage as the "illegitimate brother" of Gaj Singh. That's the first point raised in the petition, which says: "Our clients belong to the royal family of the Maharaja of Jodhpur and are the legal heirs of the late Rao Raja Hukum Singh." While the notice also raises points about defamation and the disparaging light in which Tutu has been shown, it once again brings up the issue of legitimacy.

This, then, is the legacy Zubeida-known as Vidya Rani in the palace-left behind: a question mark over her exact status in the life of the king. The outrage comes to the surface every time Zubeida is referred to in the media as "the illegitimate wife". Palace sources insist that except for Rajmata Krishna Kumari (Gaj Singh's mother), not even members of the immediate family know if Zubeida and the Maharaja were indeed married. Tutu himself, pampered as a child by his stepmother Krishna Kumari after her husband and Zubeida were killed in an air crash, was said to have become acutely aware that he was not the successor to the throne.

Zubeida may long be dead, but the touchiness about her status lives on. As for the case, it will, by all accounts, turn out to be a fight for the establishment of legitimacy, which alone can put her ghost to rest.

-Kanika Gahlaut