I think the thing with #TajDividedbyBlood on #Zee5 is that there is possibility every moment . Right up to the last of the ten episodes - remember you watch about 400 minutes of season 1 of this 16thg century historical drama. Possibility that the narrative will engage you deeper. You spot #Dharmendra as Shaikh Salim Chisti who warns Akbar that the biggest threat to the Mughals is their lust for power. You see possibility when you spot a love story brewing. You see the possibility again when you see #SandhyaMridul as Rani Jodhabai. You see a gay son trying to ascend to the throne. You see a wife going mad in the circumstances. You see a treacherous half-brother in a power struggle. You spot #ZarinaWahab as Rani Salima. You see a courtesan imprisoned since the age of 14. And you see #NaseeruddinShah as Jalaluddin Akbar. And that's the thing about Taj; the possibility keeps you going but never really fulfills its potential! And that is because the script does not dwell strongly enough on any particular thread. What it leaves you with is gnawing visuals of Naseer wringing his hands and his weary face laden with angst.
I thought that the context of three sons, all unlike each other vying for the Peacock throne was set up quite well. The initial episodes serve to highlight how each son is different. Salim (#AashimGulati, looking like #SiddarthMalhotra in some shots) is the veritable hippie lost among the wine and women and searching for a loftier goal to pursue. Murad (#TaahaShah) is the cold-blooded, kohl eyed terrorist. Daniyal (#ShubhamKumarMehra) is gay and the softest - he spends his time offering Namaz five times a day. Just when the characters are established and you settle down to see how the arcs will develop and the storyline to take over, the writing lets you down. You struggle to grasp whose story to pursue. Or is it a general treatise on a dysfunctional royal family - a saga of sex, treachery and gore? I wrote about how #TheCrown attempts to show a dysfunctional family and the trick there was how each character’s journey is emphasized upon and you empathize with each one.
#Naseer is underwhelming as he looks weary and jaded and yet is the life of the show. We have been brought up on the notion of Akbar being a progressive king, known for advocating social reforms and religious harmony; here he is depicted as someone whose authority is under question and his Din-i-Ilahi proclamation does not sound convincing. There is little explanation provided as to why Anarkali ( #AditiraoHydari) has been imprisoned in the special section of the royal harem since the age of 14 and even less told about the startling facts that emerge later.
Creators #AbhimanyuSingh (#ContiloeProductions) and #WilliamBorthwick infuses the narrative with a lot of conspiracy and dark behind-the-back secretive moves. Akbar’s grand vizier Abul Fazl, the author of Akbarnama (#PankajSaraswat), Man Singh (#DigamberPrasad), Birbal (#SubodhBhave) and Badayuni (#AayamMehta) provide some thrilling moments for sure. In the process though, the key threads like the Salim-Anarkali love story does not build up gradually; it is almost taken for granted and since you know the story, you play along. Similarly, the Rana Pratap track does not provide enough grounding as to the Rajput-Mughal enmity. The worst track is the one with #RahulBose mouthing dialogues in a very unauthentic manner where he plays Akbar’s half-brother Hakim Mirza. There is no back story, no basis for the tension.
Director #RonScalpelo could have done better to infuse some depth into the tracks he wanted us to pursue. Just like the Mumbai vada pao is incomplete without the deep fried green chilli, the other thing we associate with the Mughal drama genre is poetry. There is very little deliberation on special moments, not enough description of the life of the times, no small talk. Every scene is bent on taking the drama and the intrigue further and yet the sets don't look authentic, every secretive dialogue has people hanging around in the background. In the current scenario of religious and communal intolerance, a story of social reform could have been very relevant; i think #Taj misses the bus on this and perhaps even makes a political statement but we will stay out of that. As for the sequel, Saleem will be coming back to take revenge and that should be exciting ; what i am unsure if what next and whose story is it that I am tracking !
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