''Siyaasat'' (English: ''Politics'') is a 2014

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

n fictional drama which aired on

The EPIC Channel Epic TV is an Indian television channel that airs action, drama, comedy and narrative non-fiction and fictional programming with a focus on Indian history, folklore and epic genre. Launched by In10 Media Pvt. Ltd. on 19 November 2014, a comp ...

. The series is an adaptation of the popular 2002 award-winning fictional novel ''The Twentieth Wife'' by author Indu Sundaresan. The series revolves around Mughal politics, inter-personal conflicts, sabotage, grandeur, power and the love between Prince Salim (the Mughal emperor

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

) and Mehrunissa also known as Nur Jahan, who was Salim's twentieth and final wife. It is now available o
EPIC On
EPIC TV's streaming platform and on

Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology ...

as well.

Plot

Siyaasat is mainly about the journey of Mehrunissa to become Nur Jahan. It is based in the era of Mughal rule where

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

is the Emperor. The show focuses on the battle between the princes to become the heir to the throne and also on Salim - Mehrunissa's love story. The other prominent aspects of the show are the politics in the

harem Harem ( Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A har ...

between Jagat Gosaini,

Ruqaiya Sultan Begum Ruqaiya Sultan Begum (alternative spelling: Ruqayya, Ruqayyah) ( – 1626) was the first and chief wife of the third Mughal emperor, Akbar. Ruqaiya was a first cousin of her husband and was a Mughal princess by birth. Her father, Hindal Mi ...

and other women, the rivals of Akbar like

Malik Amber Malik Ambar (1548 – 13 May 1626) was a Siddi military leader and prime minister who became a kingmaker and de facto ruler of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate in the Deccan region of India. Born in the Adal Sultunate, in present-day Ethiopia, Malik ...

Chand Bibi Sultana Chand Bibi (1550–1599 CE) was an Indian ruler and warrior. She acted as the Regent of Bijapur Sultanate during the minority of Ibrahim Adil Shah II in 1580-1590, and regent of Ahmednagar Sultanate during the minority of her great ...

and Rana Pratap and the political turmoil in Akbar's court between Abul Fazl, Mirza Ghias Beg and

Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana Khanzada Mirza Khan Abdul Rahim (17 December 1556 – 1 October 1627), popularly known as simply Rahim and titled ''Khan-i-Khanan'', was a poet who lived in India during the rule of Mughal emperor Akbar, who was Rahim's mentor. He was one of ...

Cast

* Uday Tikekar as Emperor

* Deepika Amin as Empress

, Akbar's first wife and Padshah Begum. * Karanvir Sharma/ Sudhanshu Pandey as Prince Salim ( Emperor Jahangir), Akbar's eldest son * Charu Shankar as Mehrunissa ( Empress Nur Jahan), wife of Ali Quli Sher Afgan and illicit lover of Prince Salim. She eventually marries her lover, the emperor Jehangir. * Neetha Shetty as Maan Bai, Salim's first wife and mother of Prince Khusrau. * 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 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 ...

). * 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 Pawan Chopra is an Indian actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television ...

as Mirza Ghias Beg, Mehrunnisa's father * Suparna Marwah as Asmat Begum, Mehrunnisa's mother * Gurpreet Saini as Prince Murad, second son of Akbar * Mokshad Dodwani as Prince Daniyal, third son of Akbar *

Bikramjeet Kanwarpal Major Bikramjeet Kanwarpal (29 August 1968 1 May 2021) was an Indian film and television actor. A retired army officer, Kanwarpal had played supporting roles in many films and television serials. Kanwarpal shared screen space with actor Anil K ...

as Abu'l-Fazl, a beloved friend, advisor and courtier of Emperor Akbar * Nagesh Salwan as

, 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 Shaykh Khūbū ( fa, ), better known as Quṭb ad-Dīn Khān Kokah ( fa, ; 13 August 1569 – 20 May 1607) was the Mughal subahdar (provincial governor) of Bengal Subah during the reign of the emperor Jahangir. He was appointed governor of Benga ...

, courtier loyal to Salim, appointed commander-in-chief after Salim becomes Emperor *

Omkar Kapoor Omkar Kapoor is an Indian actor who works in the Bollywood film industry. He began his performing career as a child artist and worked in films like ''Judwaa'', '' Hero No.1'' and '' Judaai''. He made his Bollywood debut as a Parallel Lead actor ...

Mahabat Khan Mahabat Khan ( ur, مهابت خان) (full title ''Mahabat Khan Khan-e-Khanan Sipah-Salar Zamana Beg Kabuli)'', born Zamana Beg (died 1634), was a prominent Mughal general and statesman, perhaps best known for his coup against the Mughal Empero ...

, 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) * Ashraf Nagoo as Hoshiyar Khan, Mehmood's lover. *

Ashnoor Kaur Ashnoor Kaur (born 3 May 2004) is an Indian actress. She is best known for her acting in several television serials including '' Jhansi Ki Rani'', '' Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai'' and ''Patiala Babes''. In 2018, she made her Bollywood debut with ...

as Arjumand Banu Begum ( Mumtaz Mahal) * Rupali Krishnarao as Sharif un-Nissa ( Nadira), a courtesan from Lahore *Devansh Dixit as Shah Jahan

Production

The series was shot over a period of six months in

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Formerly the capital o ...

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 ...

, with the Laxmi Niwas Palace acting as a substitute for Emperor Akbar's palace in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

. Costumes for the series have been designed by Pia Benegal, the daughter of director

Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (born 14 December 1934) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He has received ...

. 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 ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the fir ...

-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 ur Jahan's birth name 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.

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, tt6847292, Siyaasat Indian television series 2014 Indian television series debuts Indian historical television series Indian period television series Hindi-language television shows Indian drama television series Epic TV original programming Television shows based on Indian novels Mughal Empire in fiction Cultural depictions of Akbar Television series set in the 17th century Cultural depictions of Jahangir