EXCLUSIVE: Naseeruddin Shah on playing King Akbar in Taj: Divided By Blood: “I learnt my lines and tried not to bump into the furniture”

The 10-part succession and family drama series will stream on ZEE5 from March 3.

February 23, 2023 - 7:03 PM IST

Earlier this week, ZEE5 released the trailer of the series Taj – Divided by Blood starring Naseeruddin Shah, Dharmendra, Aditi Rao Hydari, Aashim Gulati, Taha Shah Badussha, Shubham Kumar Mehra in the lead. Inspired by true events, the upcoming series chronicles King Akbar (played by Naseeruddin Shah) and the ensuing blood battle between his sons for the Mughal throne.

EXCLUSIVE: Naseeruddin Shah on playing King Akbar in Taj: Divided By Blood: “I learnt my lines and tried not to bump into the furniture”

Naseeruddin Shah plays the role of King Akbar. Speaking about his preparation for the character of the emperor, he said, “I learnt my lines and tried not to bump into the furniture! And that’s not a joke. If an actor can do that, half his job is done. The rest of it involves understanding the character’s situation and his relationships with those around him. Understanding the entire character is not required because his entire life is not shown. I read up whatever I could about him and spoke to some historian friends and practised the posturing, because that was what princes in those days were trained to do," he said.

Produced by Contiloe Digital along with William Borthwick as the showrunner, Simon Fantauzzo as the writer and Ron Scalpello as the director, Taj – Divided by Blood stars Naseeruddin Shah as King Akbar, Aditi Rao Hydari as Anarkali, Aashim Gulati as Prince Salim, Taha Shah Badussha as Prince Murad, Shubham Kumar Mehra as Prince Daniyal, Sandhya Mridul as Queen Jodha Bai, Zareena Wahab as Queen Salima, Queen Ruqaiya Begum as Padma Damodaran, Rahul Bose as Mirza Hakim and Dharmendra as Sheikh Salim Chishti. The series also stars Subodh Bhave, Aayam Mehta, Deepraj Rana, Shivani Tanksale, Pankaj Saraswat, Digambar Prasad and Zachary Coffin in supporting roles.

The series encapsulates the reign of King Akbar who is on a quest to find a worthy successor for his grand legacy leading to a bloody battle between his sons for the throne. While most stories from the Mughal era have been portrayed through the rose-tinted glasses of romance, Taj – Divided by Blood will showcase these historical figures as humans with ambitions, desires and flaws. A complete visual spectacle, Taj – Divided by Blood is full of drama, politics and tragedy; jealousy, deceit and betrayal; love, lust and romance; arts, poetry and architecture and most importantly, it’s a bloody war of succession in the quest for power.

The 10-part succession and family drama series will stream on ZEE5 from March 3.