| Siyaasat | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Based on | The Twentieth Wife byIndu Sundaresan |
| Directed by | Siddharth Anand Kumar,Jay Dev Banerjee,Danish Aslam, Yogesh Bhati, Rishab Seth |
| Starring | Charu Shankar Sudhanshu Pandey Uday Tikekar Deepika Amin Shaynam Ladakhi Jannat Zubair Rahmani |
| Country of origin | India |
| Original language | Hindi |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 42 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Jay Dev Banerjee |
| Production location | Rajasthan |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Indigo Creation Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | The EPIC Channel |
| Release | 20 November 2014 (2014-11-20) |
Siyaasat (English:Politics) is a 2014Indian fictional drama which aired onThe EPIC Channel.[1] The series is an adaptation of the popular 2002 award-winning fictional novelThe Twentieth Wife by authorIndu Sundaresan.[2]
The series revolves aroundMughal politics, inter-personal conflicts, sabotage, grandeur, power and the love between Prince Salim (the Mughal emperorJahangir) and Mehrunissa also known asNur Jahan, who was Salim's twentieth and final wife.[2][3] It is now available onEPIC On,EPIC TV's streaming platform and onPrime Video as well.
Siyaasat is mainly about the journey ofMehrunissa to becomeNur Jahan. It is based in the era ofMughal rule whereAkbar is the Emperor. The show focuses on the battle between the princes to become the heir to the throne and also onSalim - Mehrunissa's love story. The other prominent aspects of the show are the politics in theharem betweenJagat Gosaini,Ruqaiya Sultan Begum and other women, the rivals of Akbar likeMalik Amber,Chand Bibi andRana Pratap and the political turmoil in Akbar's court betweenAbul Fazl,Mirza Ghias Beg andAbdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana
The series was shot over a period of six months inBikaner,Rajasthan,[4] with theLaxmi Niwas Palace acting as a substitute for Emperor Akbar's palace inLahore. Costumes for the series have been designed by Pia Benegal, the daughter of directorShyam Benegal.[7]
Charu Shankar made her Indian television debut withSiyaasat. 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 aGame 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 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."[4]
The show has been shot across various scenic locales in Rajasthan and real palaces of Bikaner.[citation needed] Siyaasat brings alive the decadent lifestyle, architecture, art, and stories of the Mughal royalty.[8][failed verification]