Taj: Divided by Blood

Taj-Divided By Blood review: This retelling of Emperor Akbar's quest to find a successor to his empire is more underwhelming and subdued than expected.

If it was aiming to be the desi version of Games of Thrones, it's quite subdued, both in scale and execution. Dharmendra has a blink-and-miss role as Sheikh Salim Christi in the very beginning of the series. While Taj-Divided By Blood has battles, deception, betrayal and grandeur, it all feels a bit lacking. The series begins with Akbar laying down a new decree to his sons Prince Salim (Aashim Gulati), Prince Murad (Taha Shah) and Prince Daniyal (Shubham Kumar Mehra) that the throne won't automatically be inherited by the eldest. The same few plot points are recycled every 2-3 episodes, with the members of the harem, including Akbar's queens and the royal advisors Abu Fazl and Badayuni trying to push their own agenda with the princes. The period drama, written by Willaim Borthwick and Simon Fantauzzo, follows the Emperor Akbar (

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The series opens with the specific intention of showing us the difference between Akbar’s three grown sons: Salim (Aashim Gulati), Murad (Taha Shah Badussha) and Daniyal (Shubham Kumar Mehra) are variously engaged in their pursuits — the former adores ‘sharaab’ and ‘shabaab’ to the exclusion of all else, the second loves feeding his psychotic streak with bloody offerings, the third is a devout five-time ‘namaazi’. There’s welcome complexity in the way he is portrayed: a compassionate, tolerant man after he puts behind him the terrible violence of war, but one who is also fallible, his frailties and insecurities coming to the fore as often as his wisdom. [Sandhya Mridul ](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/naseeruddin-shah-sandhya-mridul-romantic-scenes-taj-divided-by-blood-8474714/)as Rani Jodhabai, and given scope to show her acting chops.

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So, we get hooded spies and assassins, and a muted exploration of homosexuality (it was there in The Empire too). We get a mammoth battle sequence in Kabul near the start. And while Anarkali (Aditi Rao Hydari) is a subject of extended dramatic interest, she’s painted in terms no different than the tragic romanticizing that surrounds her legend. The show is clearly inspired by the standards of international period TV, an expensive (and expansive) production spiced up with sex, gore and palace intrigue. ZEE5’s Taj: Divided by Blood, another story of rebelling sons and a father, aims for a similarly vast canvas, conjuring a 16th-century Mughal Empire riven by degeneration and dread and intrigue. “He was filming a story about sons rebelling against their father, and he was illustrating a time when all social values were in a state of chaos.”

Taj: Divided By Blood Review: a Magnum Opus that fails to add substance and consistency to it. Read on to know our take.

By the end there is a glimpse of it when Anarkali talks to Akbar in the prison, but that is just one instance in an show that spans 10 episodes. Taj: Divided By Blood is a foreign gaze into an alien landscape and that bothers the most. As said Taj has all the right ingredients but the fact that all the people involved in the core team of making the show are not from the landscape the story is set in, gives it a very wide, looking inside from the outside vision. Even the sets look like they were designed for the scene and not look lived in at all. By the time Salim goes mad in love with her, you as an audience have not even absorbed their tender love to be rooting for the hardship they are about to go through. The actor has some very good scenes where he is expected to be evil, but it is the writing that defeats him. Directed by Ron Scalpello, written by William Borthwick, and Simon Fantauzzo, story by Christopher Butera, and dialogues by Ajay Singh, the show tries to make a map of the times it is set in. Murad is written with a very daily soap opera lens and that is visible. The story is very much before and after that cult movie and the beginning and the continuation of it. It heavily relies on her looks and that gaze that she looks into the camera with. There is a mention of Maharana Pratap and his valour, the secrets of Akbar’s court, a fictional plot where Anarkali was imprisoned behind decorated walls even before she met Salim. The troop of adding imagination to historic characters some of which actually existed comes with its own set of risks and loopholes.

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Akbar’s courtiers include Abul Fazal (Pankaj Saraswat) and Badayuni (Aayam Mehta), both of whom endlessly manipulates the princes. A new spin on the Salim-Anarkali entanglement comes to dominate the series and nearly derails it. Naseeruddin Shah brings to the series gravitas, impeccable diction and relatable befuddlement. By contrast, the non-stop fratricidal war in Taj: Divided By Blood ensures that whatever the time of day, the only topic of discussion is: after Akbar, who? The makers don’t stint on the entertainment factor, at the cost of expanding our understanding of the period. His sons Salim, Murad and Daniyal are unsuited to take over from a king who has been visibly weakened by the pressures of ruling. Akbar’s first-born Salim (Aashim Gulati) should be the automatic choice, but for his penchant for threesomes and mind-altering substances. The mythical courtesan whose alleged love for Salim drew a wedge between him and Akbar has inspired several films and shows, most notably Mughal-e-Azam (1960). While the 10-episode show is fair-minded in its exploration of a vilified dynasty, it could well end up fanning stereotypes of the Mughals as power-mad, decadent and cruel. The deeply religious Daniyal (Shubham Kumar Mehra) is considered too effete to rule. Beyond the debate about representation lies a lavishly filmed and occasionally thoughtful exploration of an imploding family. In 1568, a young Akbar begs the Sufi saint Salim Chishti for an heir.

We are back with your weekend watchlist! From Gulmohar to Taj Divided By Blood, we bring to you all that you need to start binging already.

It is releasing on Netflix on March 3. Butta Bomma will release on Netflix on March 4. Daisy Jones & The Six's first episode premiered on Prime Video on March 3, 2023. The Pimp: No F***king Fairytale is now streaming on Prime Video. [The series is described as a revelatory tale](https://www.indiatoday.in/binge-watch/reviews/story/taj-divided-by-blood-season-1-review-this-mughal-game-of-thrones-is-a-lacklustre-affair-2342008-2023-03-03) about the inner workings and the succession drama that played out in the hallowed chambers of the Mughal empire. As per the official site of the OTT platform, this series is inspired by true events. It is streaming from March 1. The Mohanlal-led Alone proved to be a critical and commercial failure when it hit screens on January 26. Joju George’s Iratta was released in theatres on February 3. The series streams from March 2. The show streams on Netflix from March 4. Chiranjeevi’s Waltair Veerayya opened in theatres on January 13 and emerged as a commercial success.

'Taj: Divided By Blood' represents another attempt at creating a Game of Thrones-like franchise centred around the Mughals.

[Game of Thrones](https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/hot-on-web/house-of-the-dragon-teaser-trailer-game-of-thrones-spin-off-house-targaryen) was a triumph was due to its attention to detail. Because the truth is worth it.) Yet this desi Game of Thrones could very well learn from its shortcomings and come back stronger in the next season. The world-building is almost believable but the needless pinning, especially on Salim’s part, seems out of context as the budding love between him and Anarkali never truly came to fruition. Its lack of complex characterization is saved sometimes by the opulence of the sets. [Naseeruddin Shah](https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/celebrities/naseeruddin-shah-interview-taj-zee-5-jaane-bhi-do-yaaro-religion-art-media-reports)) is on a quest to find the next capable ruler of the Mughal throne, asserting that the firstborn may not be the best choice. And unfortunately, when one compares it to Aashim Gulati's Salim leaves no stone unturned to fit into the mould of the lovesick hero - but there are only so many ways in which you can look inebriated. Bose may not be at his villainous best as Mirza Hakim but he makes do with the cards he is dealt with. It’s pretty simplistic and rightfully so and even though his wives seem to have some influence over him it’s seldom strong enough to drive the plot into motion. The three brothers and their competency or rather, incompetency occupies the primary chunk of the plot. Unfortunately, Salim and Anarkali’s relationship seems premature to have any lasting impact on the plot.