''Jodha Akbar'' is an Indian

Historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

television series that aired from 18 June 2013 to 7 August 2015 on

Zee TV Zee TV (stylised as ZEE TV) is a Hindi general entertainment pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription bus ...

and is also digitally available on

ZEE5 ZEE5 is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, run by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on Web, Andr ...

. The show was produced by

Ekta Kapoor Ekta Kapoor (born 7 June 1975) is an Indian television producer, film producer and director who works in Hindi cinema and soap opera. She is the joint managing director and creative head of Balaji Telefilms Limited, which was founded in 1994. ...

under

Balaji Telefilms Balaji Telefilms is an Indian company that produces Indian soap operas, reality TV, comedy, game shows, entertainment, and factual programming in several Indian languages. Balaji Telefilms is promoted by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor and is ...

. Starring Rajat Tokas and Paridhi Sharma, it was a successful show with praises for its cast performances.

Plot

''Jodha Akbar'' is an epic drama that focuses on how the marriage policy brings the love of Jodha Bai and Akbar in a measure that has changed the destiny of India. This drama period also describes the wars of this time and the relations between the Mughals and Rajputs and how Jodha and Akbar face trials and tribulations to be together. The drama also focuses on the operating Queens, courts, courtesans, ministers and their influence on the love story of Akbar and Jodha Bai. Finally, the show also portrays how Mughal Emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad acquires the title 'Akbar' from the people of India. Jalaluddin Mohammad, a fearless warrior, son of Emperor Humayun and Hameeda Bano Begum, became the Emperor of the Mughal dynasty at a very young age. He is under the influence of Bairam Khan, his reagent, and Maham Anga, his foster mother. Bairam Khan has taught Jalal to be a ruthless and cruel ruler, and spread his rule by fear, conquer people by the sword. Jalal, following Bairam Khan's ideals becomes a heartless and fearsome ruler, whom the people dislike. He wants to conquer the entire Hindustaan, and presently, he is eyeing the golden Rajputana. Jodha Bai, princess of Amer, daughter of Raja Bharmal and Rani Mainavati, is a kind and intelligent young girl, who believes in ruling people's hearts and that rule is spread by love and togetherness, not by force. She decides to go to a far away temple to offer prayers on her birthday, along with Moti Bai, her friend and aide. While offering prayers there, a band of mughal soldiers come and start looting the jewellery of the Goddess. When Moti Bai tries to stop them, they try to molest her. Angered at this, Jodha asks who could be so cruel as to rob people of their religions, to which a temple person replied Jalaluddin Mohammad. Jodha pledges to destroy Jalal and present his head in front of the Goddess. Meanwhile, Moti Bai, embarrassed by the turn of events, decides to commit suicide, but Jodha prevents her. This makes Jodha even more vengeful. Jalal punishes a man for stealing his shoes by cutting off his legs. He decides to meet Sharifuddin, a subedar of, close to Amer, so that he can wait for the right moment to attack the unaware Rajputs.

Cast

Main

* Rajat Tokas as Badshah-e-Hind Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar * Paridhi Sharma as Jodha Bai/Mariam-uz-Zamani/Mallika-e-Hindustan/Laboni (Jodha's evil doppelgänger) and portrayed as Akbar's first and last love. * Manisha Yadav as Salima Sultan Begum *

Ashwini Kalsekar Ashwini Kalsekar is an Indian actress who works predominantly in the Marathi and Hindi television and film industry. She is known mostly for her collaboration with Hindi movies directors Sriram Raghavan, Rohit Shetty, and Ram Gopal Varma. Sh ...

as Maham Anga * Smiley Suri / Lavina Tandon as Ruqaiya Sultan Begum *

Ravi Bhatia Ravi Bhatia is an Indian television actor. He is known for his portrayal of Salim in Zee TV's '' Jodha Akbar.'' Career He started with small roles in '' Dharamveer, Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki'', ''Veekram and Betaal.'' In ''Dharamveer'' as a ...

as Salim * Heena Parmar as

Anarkali Anarkali () was a legendary woman said to be loved by the 16th-century Mughal Prince Salim, who later became Emperor Jahangir. According to some accounts, Anarkali was the nickname of the courtesan Nadira Begum or Sharf-un-Nisa, though schol ...

Recurring

* Ankita Dubey as Moti Bai * Chhaya / Ishita as

Hamida Banu Begum Hamida Banu Begum ( 1527 – 29 August 1604), was the queen consort of the second Mughal emperor Humayun and the mother of his successor, the third Mughal emperor Akbar.Shamsuddin Ataga Khan * Amarpreet Rait as Jiji Anga *

Chetan Hansraj Chetan Hansraj (born 15 June 1972) is an Indian film and television actor. Career Hansraj started his career as a child actor in 1980, doing over 250 press advertisements and 30 ad films, and his debut film ''Kook Doo Koo'' was selected for th ...

Adham Khan Adham Khan (1531 – 16 May 1562) was a general of Akbar. He was the younger son of Maham Anga, and thus, was the foster brother of Akbar. In his fourth regnal year, Akbar married him to Javeda Begum, the daughter of Baqi Khan Baqlani. Conquest ...

and Haidar Khan, Javeda and Adham's son * Munendra Singh Kushwah as Raja Khambar Singh * Prianca Sharma as Javeda Begu * Ankit Raizada as

Man Singh I Man Singh I, popularly known as Mirza Raja Man Singh (21 December 1550 – 6 July 1614) was the 29th Kachwaha Rajput Raja of Amer, later known as Jaipur state, in Rajputana. He was the most powerful and trusted general of the Mughal emp ...

* Jyotsna Chandola as Man bai * Rajeev Saxena as Raja Bharmal * Natasha Sinha as Rani Mainawati * Kunal Bhatia as Rajkumar Bhagwant Das * Nupur Saxena as Sa Bhagawati Ji Sahiba * Bhakti Narula as Rani Lilavati * Shweta Kanoje as Naazima Begam * Shaurya Singh as Raja Todarmal * Kaif Ali Khan as Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan *

Gopal K Singh Gopal Singh (born 14 November 1976) is an Indian film, television and theatre actor. Singh is majorly known for his power packed performances and unconventional roles in Hindi films. His major work includes '' Company, Calcutta Mail, Ek Haseen ...

Birbal Birbal (; born Mahesh Das; 1528 16 February 1586), or Raja Birbal, was a Saraswat Hindu Bhatt Brahmin advisor and main commander (''Mukhya Senapati'') of army in the court of the Mughal emperor, Akbar. He is mostly known in the Indian subconti ...

* Vijay Badlani as

Tansen Tansen ( – 26 April 1589), also referred to and commonly known as Sangeet Samrat () , was a Hindustani classical musician. Born in a Hindu Gaur Brahmin family, he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest region of modern Madhya Pr ...

* Kunal Khosla as Qutubuddin Koka * Sheezan K Mohd as Sultan Murad Mirza and young Akbar * Gaurav Sharma as

Sultan Daniyal Mirza Shahzada Daniyal Mirza (11 September 1572 – 19 March 1605) was an Imperial Prince of the Mughal Empire who served as the Viceroy of the Deccan. He was the third son of Emperor Akbar and the brother of Emperor Jahangir. Daniyal was Akbar's ...

* Rohit Joshi as Farhan (Saleem's friend) *

Anurag Sharma Anurag Sharma may refer to: * Anurag Sharma (actor) * Anurag Sharma (physicist) * Anurag Sharma (politician) Anurag Sharma (born 16 November 1964) is a Bharatiya Janata Party politician and Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha from Jhansi- Lalitp ...

Maharana Pratap Pratap Singh I, popularly known as Maharana Pratap (c. 9 May 1540 – 19 January 1597), was a king of Mewar from the Sisodia dynasty. Pratap became a folk hero for his military resistance against the expansionism of the Mughal Empire under Ak ...

* Ashok Devaliya as Hoshiyar Khan * Vicky Batra as Kunwar Sujamal * Pranav Misshra as

Mirza Muhammad Hakim Shahzada Mirza Muhammad Hakim (29 April 1553 – 10 October 1585), sometimes known simply as Mirza Hakim, was the third son of the Mughal emperor Humayun. He ruled Kabul in Afghanistan, and often conflicted with his elder brother, Emperor Akbar. ...

* Parag Tyagi as Sharifuddin Hussain * Sonakshi More as

Bakshi Banu Begum Bakshi Banu Begum ( fa, بخشی بانو بیگم; born September 1540) was a Mughal princess and was the second daughter of Emperor Humayun and his consort Gunwar Bibi. Bakshi Banu was thus the older half-sister of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. Ea ...

* Mita Vashisht as

Mah Chuchak Begum Mah Chuchak Begum (meaning ''moon flower''; died 28 March 1564) was a wife of the second Mughal emperor Humayun. She was an ambitious lady who threw out the Naib Subadar and ruled Kabul on her own, once leading her army in person and defeating M ...

* Naved Aslam as

Bairam Khan Muhammad Bairam Khan( Persianمحمد بیرام خان) (18 January 150131 January 1561), commonly known as Bairam Khan or Bayram Khan was an important military commander, and later commander-in-chief of the Mughal army, a powerful statesman a ...

* Gandharva Pardeshi as Rajkumar Jagganath * Dev Bishit as Rajkumar Khangar * Akhil Vaid as Rajkumar Raj Singh * Abhilash Chaudhary as Raja Drumak * Ajay Paul Singh Andotra as Mantri Lakshman Das * Prince Singh as Suryabhan Singh * Kalyani Trivedi as Shagunibai * Meghna Naidu as Benazir * Ketan Karande as Khyber Zaara * Manoj Patel as Resham Khan * Shilpa Raizada as Nigar/Shehnaz * Raanveer Chahal as Rashid Khan * Dharti Bhatt as Sukanya * Sumbul Touqueer as Mehtab * Saniya Touqeer as young Anarkali * Ayaan Zubair Rahmani as young Salim * Javed Pathan as Sheikh Gadai * Melanie Pais as Labon * Kamalika Guha Thakurta as Laboni's Mother * Zeba Hussain as Chanda

Historical accuracy

Certain Rajput groups claimed Jodhaa was married to Akbar's son, Jahangir, not Akbar, whereas certain reports state that Jodha and Akbar were not married although the primary history proves that Akbar and the princess of Amber were married on which the show is made as a complete show can't be false. They also protested against the show along with '' Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap'', another historical series that aired on

Sony TV Sony Television, Sony TV, or Sony HD may refer to any of the following television-related products from Japanese conglomerate Sony: * Television sets designed and manufactured by Sony Corporation in Japan ** Trinitron, television hardware brand (19 ...

. The title of the series was criticised by members of the Kshatriya community as misleading, politically motivated historical revisionism that minimised Rajput history. The community protested against the series in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

, and alleged that if the name was not changed they would not let any

films to be released in the state. Ekta Kapoor stated, "I always believe it's 80% history and 20% folklore. There are enough proofs that say it's true, but then there are some people who say it's not. Akbar had a certain graph and we know that. We cannot negate that there was a change of heart in him from a power-hungry ruler to a non-biased one because of his Rajput queen."I have sleepless nights because of Jodha Akbar: Ekta Kapoor
/ref> The story is loosely true but has a wholesome addition of drama.

Production

The producer of the show,

was influenced by the 2009 big screen movie, ''

Jodhaa Akbar ''Jodhaa Akbar'' is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language epic historical romantic drama film directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. It stars Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the titular roles. Set in the 16th century, the film shows the life and ...

'', directed by Bollywood's

Ashutosh Gowariker Ashutosh Gowariker (born 15 February 1964) is an Indian film director, actor, screenwriter and producer who works in Hindi cinema. He is known for directing films "set on a huge canvas while boasting of an opulent treatment". His is particularl ...

. Rajat Tokas who had earlier worked with Ekta Kapoor in the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, '' Tere Liye'' was selected to play the role of the protagonist ''Akbar''. Ekta Kapoor stated she conducted 7000 auditions for the female protagonist Jodha across the nation before selecting Paridhi Sharma.

was selected to play the role of Maham Anga, Akbar's primary caretaker and protector.

Adaptations

This series is dubbed in Tamil as

same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first name and surname. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after fou ...

Zee Tamil Zee Tamil is an Indian Tamil language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. The channel started broadcasting on 2008 and is available internationally. The channel broadcasts from Guindy, Chennai, ...

, in

Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken by Telugu people predominantly living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. It is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language f ...

Zee Telugu Zee Telugu is an Indian Telugu-language general entertainment pay television channel in India. It was launched on 12 September 2004 as ''Alpha Telugu'' and was rebranded as ''Zee Telugu'' on 18 May 2005. The channel is owned by Zee Entertainm ...

, in

Bengali Language Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second most widely spoken o ...

Zee Bangla Zee Bangla is an Indian general entertainment pay television channel broadcasting in the Bengali language. It is owned by the Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It is the first Bengali-language satellite television channel in India, officially co ...

, in Malayalam language as

on Zee Keralam, and in

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to t ...

Zee World Africa Zee World is an English-language Bollywood entertainment pay television channel in South Africa. It was launched on 3 February 2015, as the first English-dubbed Bollywood channel in Africa. It is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. H ...

Awards

References

External links

*
''Jodha Akbar''
at

{{Balaji Telefilms Indian period television series Indian historical television series Balaji Telefilms television series Zee TV original programming 2013 Indian television series debuts 2015 Indian television series endings Mughal Empire in fiction Cultural depictions of Akbar Cultural depictions of Tansen Television series set in the 16th century Cultural depictions of Jahangir Television series about Islam