Siyaasat (English: Politics) is a 2014 fictional drama which aired on The EPIC Channel.
The series revolves around Mughal Empire politics, inter-personal conflicts, sabotage, grandeur, power and the love between Prince Salim (the Mughal emperor Jahangir) and Mehrunissa also known as Nur Jahan, who was Salim's twentieth and final wife.
Plot
Siyaasat is mainly about the journey of
Nur Jahan to become
Nur Jahan. It is based in the era of
Mughal Empire rule where
Akbar is the Emperor. The show focuses on the battle between the princes to become the heir to the throne and also on
Jahangir - Mehrunissa's love story. The other prominent aspects of the show are the politics in the
harem between
Jagat Gosaini, Ruqaiya Sultan Begum and other women, the rivals of Akbar like
Malik Amber,
Chand Bibi and
Rana Pratap and the political turmoil in Akbar's court between
Abul Fazl, Mirza Ghias Beg and Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana
Cast
-
Uday Tikekar as Emperor Akbar
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Deepika Amin as Empress Ruqaiya Sultan Begum, Akbar's first wife and Padshah Begum.
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Karanvir Sharma/Sudhanshu Pandey as Prince Jahangir (Emperor Jahangir), Akbar's eldest son
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Charu Shankar as Nur Jahan (Nur Jahan),
-
Neetha Shetty as Manbhawati Bai,
-
Shaynam Ladakhi as Mehmood, Nur Jahan's brother and Hoshiyar's lover.
-
Nayani Dixit as Jagat Gosaini, Salim's second wife and later Padshah Begum and the mother of Prince Khurram (future Emperor Shah Jahan).
-
Jannat Zubair Rahmani as Young Mehrunissa
-
KC Shankar as Ali Quli (Sher Afghan), a nobleman and husband of Mehrunnisa, who hates Prince Salim because the latter is Mehrunnisa's illicit lover
-
Pawan Chopra as Mirza Ghias Beg, Mehrunnisa's father
-
Suparna Marwah as Asmat Begum, Mehrunnisa's mother
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Gurpreet Saini as Prince Murad,
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Mokshad Dodwani as Prince Daniyal, third son of Akbar
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Bikramjeet Kanwarpal as Abu'l-Fazl,
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Nagesh Salwan as Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, a courtier of Akbar and Salim who later supports prince Khusrau in his rebellion against his father Salim (Emperor Jehangir)
-
Kavin Dave as Qutubuddin Koka, courtier loyal to Salim, appointed commander-in-chief after Salim becomes Emperor
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Omkar Kapoor as Mahabat Khan, courtier loyal to Salim, appointed Grand Vazir (Wazir) after Salim becomes Emperor
-
Ravy Sharma as Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan, brother of Mehrunissa, father of Arjumand Banu Begum (Mumtaz Mahal)
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Ashraf Nagoo as Hoshiyar Khan, Mehmood's lover.
-
Ashnoor Kaur as Arjumand Banu Begum (Mumtaz Mahal)
-
Rupali Krishnarao as Sharif un-Nissa (Anarkali), a courtesan from Lahore
-
Devansh Dixit as Shah Jahan
Production
The series was shot over a period of six months in
Bikaner,
Rajasthan,
with the Laxmi Niwas Palace acting as a substitute for Emperor Akbar's palace in
Lahore. Costumes for the series have been designed by Pia Benegal, the daughter of director
Shyam Benegal.
Charu Shankar made her Indian television debut with Siyaasat. She described how she bagged the lead role, "I had read all three books in the Taj Mahal trilogy and liked them. The producers called me and said that they were trying to make a Game of Thrones-style series out of it, to which I said, "Excellent. What role do you want me for?" And that is when I got to know that it was for Mehrunissa Nur. I was driving at that moment and I almost banged my car out of excitement." Shankar described how she prepared for the role of Nur Jahan. "I had a month to prepare for the role before we went to Bikaner, which is where we shot the series. I happened to be doing an art history course at the National Museum at that time and I spent it at the gallery studying Mughal miniatures and trying to imagine the world that Mehrunissa lived in."
The show has been shot across various scenic locales in Rajasthan and real palaces of Bikaner. Siyaasat brings alive the decadent lifestyle, architecture, art, and stories of the Mughal royalty.
External links
