''Badshah Begum'' () is a 2022 Pakistani television historical drama series produced by Rafay Rashdi and

Momina Duraid Momina Duraid ( ur, ) is a Pakistani director and producer. She is a senior producer and creative head of television network Hum TV and CEO of her own production company MD Productions. She has produced and created several series including '' ...

under the banners of Rafay Rashdi Productions and

MD Productions MD Productions is a Pakistani television and film production company based in Karachi, Pakistan. It is founded by Momina Duraid and Duraid Qureshi, son of Sultana Siddiqui. History The company has produced television serials such as ''Zindagi Gu ...

, written by

Saji Gul ''Ibn-e-Hawwa'' () is a Pakistani television drama series produced by Momina Duraid under banner MD Productions, written by Saji Gul and directed by Syed Ahmed Kamran. It stars Hira Mani, Shahzad Sheikh and Aymen Saleem. It broadcasts weekly on ...

and directed by Khizer Idrees. It revolves around the era when Mughal Empire was in power and the concept of "Badshah Begum" had the most priority. Story's main lead is Jahan Ara (Zara Noor) who was the most famous Badshah Begum of Mughal Era, because of her bravery and influence. Story revolves around politics, power lust and rivalry among the siblings to get the throne. It features

Zara Noor Abbas Zara Noor Abbas, also known by her married name Zara Noor Abbas Siddiqui, is a Pakistani actress. She is best known for her role as Arsala in Momina Duraid's ''Khamoshi (TV series), Khamoshi'' (2017), and has also acted in serials ''Dharkan (201 ...

Farhan Saeed Farhan Saeed Butt is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, actor, music video director, and entrepreneur. Saeed is the former lead vocalist of the Pakistani band Jal and owns the restaurant ''Cafe Rock'' in Lahore. He sings in Urdu and Punjabi. Perso ...

Ali Rehman Khan Ali Rehman Khan ( ur, ) is a Pakistani actor who appears in Urdu films, television series and theater plays. Khan has won two Hum Awards and has been nominated twice at the Lux Style Awards for his acting prowess. Born and raised in Islamabad ...

Yasir Hussain Yasir Hussain ( ur, ) is a Pakistani screenwriter, actor, playwright and host from Islamabad best known for his comic roles. He hosted '' The After Moon Show'' on Hum TV. He is also known for playing the antagonist in the 2018 social drama '' ...

, Shahzad Nawaz,

Komal Meer Komal Meer is a Pakistani television actress. She is best known for portraying the supporting character of Rameen in Momina Duraid and ISPR's ''Ehd-e-Wafa''. Her other appearances include '' Resham Gali Ki Husna'', '' Benaam'', ''Badshah Begum ...

and

Saman Ansari Saman Ansari is a Pakistani television, theater and OTT actor. She started acting in 2014 and is performing to date. . Career Saman Ansari started her career in the HUMTV drama Jugnoo opposite Zahid Ahmed and Yumna Zaidi. She is noted for pla ...

in prominent roles. The series first aired on

Hum TV Hum TV is a 24-hour Urdu General Entertainment TV channel based in Karachi, Pakistan. It was founded by Sultana Siddiqui and Duraid Qureshi. It is owned by Hum Network Limited and traded on Pakistan Stock Exchange as (HUMNL). Hum Network Limi ...

on 1 March 2022 and the last episode aired 18 October 2022.

Plot

The drama is set in the fictional village of Peeraan Pur (Interior

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

Larkana Larkana ( ur, , translit=lāṛkāna; sd, لاڙڪاڻو, translit=lāṛkāṇo) is a city located in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the 15th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is home to the Indus Valley civilization site Moh ...

) which tells the real concept of Gaddi and Politics. When undesired circumstances force his city-born and raised children Jahan Ara, Roshan and Shahmir to their hometown, they find themselves tangled in powerplay and politics that they never wished to be a part of. What follows in an epic tale of dynastic politics, sibling rivalry and anarchy. Badshah Begum is based on true historical incidents which took place during the 16th and 17th centuries. The characters of Jahan Ara and Roshan Ara are based on the historical figures which lived during the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

. They were daughters of the fifth Mughal emperor

Shah Jahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

Jahanara Begum Jahanara Begum (23 March 1614 – 16 September 1681) was a Mughal princess and later the Padshah Begum of the Mughal Empire from 1631 to 1658 and again from 1668 until her death. She was the second and the eldest surviving child of Emperor Shah ...

and

Roshanara Begum Roshanara Begum ( fa, , lit=Adorned in Light); 3 September 1617 – 11 September 1671) was a Mughal princess and the third daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Roshanara was a brilliant woman and a talented poet. She ...

. Jahanara was the most honorable

Badshah Begum Badshah Begum ( 1703 – 14 December 1789) was Empress consort of the Mughal Empire from 8 December 1721 to 6 April 1748 as the first wife and chief consort of the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah. She is popularly known by her title Malika-uz-Z ...

of that time who established herself in the

Agra Fort The Agra Fort is a historical fort in the city of Agra in India also known as the Red Fort. Rebuilt by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1565 and completed in 1573, it served as the main residence of the rulers of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638, when t ...

. The drama highlights incidents that occurred during the rule of Jahanara Begum.

Cast

Episodes

* Episode 1 , 1 March 2022 * Episode 2 , 8 March 2022 * Episode 3 , 15 March 2022 * Episode 4 , 22 March 2022 * Episode 5 , 29 March 2022 * Episode 6 , 5 April 2022 * Episode 7 , 12 April 2022 * Episode 8 , 19 April 2022 * Episode 9 , 26 April 2022 * Episode 10 , 10 May 2022 * Episode 11 , 17 May 2022 * Episode 12 , 24 May 2022 * Episode 13 , 31 May 2022 * Episode 14 , 7 June 2022 * Episode 15 , 14 June 2022 * Episode 16 , 21 June 2022 * Episode 17 , 28 June 2022 * Episode 18 , 5 July 2022 * Episode 19 , 19 July 2022 * Episode 20 , 26 July 2022 * Episode 21 , 2 August 2022 * Episode 22 , 16 August 2022 * Episode 23 , 23 August 2022 * Episode 24 , 30 August 2022 * Episode 25 , 6 September 2022 * Episode 26 , 13 September 2022 * Episode 27 , 20 September 2022 * Episode 28 , 27 September 2022 * Episode 29 , 6 October 2022 * Episode 30 , 11 October 2022 * Last Episode , 18 October 2022

Reception

Minutes before its launch, the serial trended at number 1 on twitter along with Zara Noor Abbas, Farhan Saeed and Yasir Hussain as well. The first episode achieved decent ratings of 5.8 TRP and mixed response from audience and social media users. However, while reviewing first episode, critics lauded the direction and performances of the cast members. After airing 6 episodes, '' Youline Magazine'' praised the performances of almost all the actors but criticised the, writing, executional lapses and slow pace. The story was however praised stating, "On paper, the story certainly has good bones".

Production

Development and casting

After making his big screen debut as producer and director, Rafay Rashdi started working on his next project in late 2017 which was written by

. Saba Qamar was selected to play the main role. It was then decided to release as a web-series with other actors until early 2019 including

Faysal Quraishi Faysal Quraishi ( ur, ; born October 26, 1978) is a Pakistani actor, producer and television host. He appears in Pakistani television dramas, reality shows and films, and is one of Pakistan's highest-paid actors. He is the recipient of more th ...

Imran Ashraf Imran Ashraf Awan (born 11 September 1989) is a Pakistani actor and writer. Ashraf appeared in ''Dil Lagi'', ''Alif Allah Aur Insaan'' and ''Raqs-e-Bismil''. He is best known for portraying mentally challenged Bhola in ''Ranjha Ranjha Kardi'' ...

Mohsin Abbas Haider Mohsin Abbas Haider ( ur, ) is a Pakistani actor, singer, writer and television presenter. He is the recipient of a Lux Style Award from five nominations. Haider is best known for his acting roles in the successful films ''Na Maloom Afraad'' ( ...

and

Gohar Rasheed Gohar Rasheed ( ur, ; born 2 May 1984) is a Pakistani actor. He is best known for his work in the movie ''Seedlings'', for which he was nominated for best actor in a supporting role at the 2012 New York Film Festival and the 1st ARY Film Award ...

. Qamar was then replaced by

Iman Ali Iman Ali ( ur, ; born 19 December 1980) is a Pakistani actress, model, and singer who appears in Urdu films. Ali made her film debut with a leading role in the 2007 thriller film ''Khuda Kay Liye'', for which she won a Lux Style Award for B ...

after which the project was shelved due to some unknown reasons. In late 2021, the work on the project restarted with

revealed to be a part of the project and it was changed to a television series under the banner of

and Rafay Rashdi Production.

was chosen to play the main role, earlier offered to Ali. In early 2022, it was also announced that

and

had also joined the cast with other cast members of

, Shahzad Nawaz, Hamza Sohail,

, Hiba Aziz and Abul Hassan.

Filming and location

The principal photography began in

in October 2021 with a spell of 90 days on the ancestral

Haveli A ''haveli'' is a traditional townhouse, mansion, manor house, in the Indian subcontinent, usually one with historical and architectural significance, and located in a town or city. The word ''haveli'' is derived from Arabic ''hawali'', mean ...

of the producer, Rashdi. After that, the filming also took place in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

Release and promotion

The first teaser was released on 2 February 2022 while the original soundtrack was released on 24 February 2022. The series premiered on 1 March 2022, Tuesdays with a timeslot of 08:00pm by succeeding ''

Ibn-e-Hawwa ''Ibn-e-Hawwa'' () is a Pakistani television drama series produced by Momina Duraid under banner MD Productions, written by Saji Gul and directed by Syed Ahmed Kamran. It stars Hira Mani, Shahzad Sheikh and Aymen Saleem. It broadcasts weekly o ...

'', while ''Ibn-e-Hawwa'' moved to Saturdays, as ''

Qissa Meherbano Ka ''Qissa Meherbano Ka'' () is a 2021 Pakistani television series premiered on 28 August 2021 on Hum TV. It is directed by Iqbal Hussain, written by Fakhra Jabeen and produced by Momina Duraid under MD Productions. The serial stars Mawra Hocane, ...

'' ended.

References

{{Reflist 2022 Pakistani television series debuts