"Sahib Bibb Aur Ghulam" has Meena Kumari as its magnetic centre.She plays a complex, flawed but spirited Chhoti bahu of a feudal era who chafes at the bonds constricting her.She eventually crumbles due to a hopeless love and a debilitating addiction, but depicts that there can be dignity even in desperation. An unsure small-town youth, Bhoothnath arrives in Kolkata and finds employment in the Mohini Sindoor factory. A volatile relationship with his boss's pert daughter Jabba (Waheeda Rehman) ensues. He finds accommodation in some quarters of a palatial haveli belonging to the local zamindars and slowly gets entrenched in the life of the haveli's Chhoti bahu (Meena Kumari). Her relationship with her debauched husband (Rehman) has reached an impasse; he is spending nights with courtesans. But she is optimistic that the sindoor will live up to its claims and help her win her husband's affections. Chhoti bahu's husband is paralyzed and the family becomes bankrupt. Replete with emotional landmines, the nature of their ambiguous relationship is subject to individual interpretation. The exchange between Meena Kumari and Rehman is shrapnel-sharp. It exposes the vulnerability and the ensuing anger of a man confronted with the hollowness of his chauvinism even as it lauds the spirit of an unloved woman who won't accept rejection as her lot. Meena Kumari,in her career-best role, is simply mesmerizing.