Filmmaker Prabhakar Shukla, who was making a film based on Gudiya, a Muslim woman who was made to leave her second husband when her first husband returned from a Pakistani jail, is shocked over her sudden death.

Gudiya, the wife of Indian soldier Mohammad Arif, died Jan 2 of a complicated disease at an army hospital here.

"My film was complete - only the climax was left. I was going to shoot the climax from Jan 20. But suddenly she passed away. I am shocked. Now I don't know what to do. I am in a mess," Shukla told IANS.

Shukla, who was readying to shoot the climax of the film titled "Kahaani Gudiya Ki", says he now has a mammoth task ahead. He was earlier planning to take public opinion on what should be the right end to Gudiya's story.

The 26-year-old woman's tragic story caught the limelight when Arif, captured by Pakistani soldiers after the 1999 Kargil war in Jammu and Kashmir, was released in August 2004.

Thinking Arif had died, Gudiya had been re-married by her relatives in the meantime to another man, Taufiq, and was pregnant with his child.

Arif claimed her back as his wife, and Gudiya was told by elders at her Mundali village in Uttar Pradesh to rejoin Arif.

Shukla had planned a public poll to ask what the end to his film should be like.

Now he plans to "add a few scenes to change the climax".

"It is going to be a difficult task for me to incorporate the new developments in the film," he said.

"Now that she has died we are a little confused. But if you ask me, I would still like to go ahead with our plans of a public opinion.

"I feel real life cannot be changed but reel life can be changed. I think reel life should be encouraging and positive."

The director feels people around Gudiya are responsible for messing up her life.

"If you see it from Gudiya's point of view - going back to her first husband Arif would have been so traumatic for her. I think the decision inflicted on her by the village panchayat took her life. They forced her to go back to her first husband but couldn't force her to love him and accept him."

Shukla says his film is a homage to Gudiya.

"I want that this (Gudiya's fate) should not happen to any other girl in future. It is my 'shraddhanjali' to Gudiya."

The filmmaker, however, had never met Gudiya.

"I couldn't meet her but my writing team met her to get the complete details on her background, her living style and her clothes. She talked to them enthusiastically and was very keen to see the film. She told our writer to show her the film before releasing it."

Divya Dutta is in the title role of the film. Arif Zakaria plays the first husband and Rajpal Yadav the second.

"Divya is perfect for the character. I am not saying this because she is a friend. She is a very talented actress. When I decided to make this film the first name that came to my mind was of Divya."

Well-known ghazal singer Jagjit Singh has sung the theme song "Gudiay tujh pe ek pal hasna ek pal rona aaye".

Vivek Prakash has composed the music, and the script is by Ashok Humrahi.

The film will hit the screens probably in February-end or early March. Shukla is planning to take the film to international film festivals.

"Such stories are received well in the global arena," he said.