Siyaasat (English: Politics) is a 2014 Indian fictional drama which aired on The EPIC Channel.[1] The series is an adaptation of the popular 2002 award-winning fictional novel The Twentieth Wife by author Indu Sundaresan.[2]

Siyaasat
GenreHistorical fiction
Based onThe Twentieth Wife
by Indu Sundaresan
Directed bySiddharth Anand Kumar,Jay Dev Banerjee, Danish Aslam, Yogesh Bhati, Rishab Seth
StarringCharu Shankar
Sudhanshu Pandey
Uday Tikekar
Deepika Amin
Shaynam Ladakhi
Jannat Zubair Rahmani
Country of originIndia
Original languageHindi
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes42
Production
ProducerJay Dev Banerjee
Production locationRajasthan
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time60 minutes
Production companyIndigo Creation Productions
Original release
NetworkThe EPIC Channel
Release20 November 2014 (2014-11-20)

The series revolves around Mughal politics, inter-personal conflicts, sabotage, grandeur, power and the love between Prince Salim (the Mughal emperor Jahangir) and Mehrunissa also known as Nur Jahan, who was Salim's twentieth and final wife.[2][3] It is now available on EPIC On, EPIC TV's streaming platform and on Prime Video as well.

Plot

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Siyaasat is mainly about the journey of Mehrunissa to become Nur Jahan. It is based in the era of Mughal rule where Akbar 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 between Jagat Gosaini, Ruqaiya Sultan Begum and other women, the rivals of Akbar like Malik Amber, Chand Bibi and Rana Pratap and the political turmoil in Akbar's court between Abul Fazl, Mirza Ghias Beg and Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana

Cast

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Production

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The series was shot over a period of six months in Bikaner, Rajasthan,[4] with the Laxmi Niwas Palace acting as a substitute for Emperor Akbar's palace in Lahore. Costumes for the series have been designed by Pia Benegal, the daughter of director Shyam Benegal.[7]

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-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]

References

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  1. ^ "Can a mythology and history-based channel be an #EpicWin?". Best Media Info. 17 November 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b "A genuinely interesting TV serial at last?". Deccan Herald. 30 August 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Mahesh Samat's 'Epic' run to begin on November 19". AFaqs. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d "The reigning queen of Siyaasat: Charu Shankar on playing Noor Jehan". The Sunday Guardian. 3 January 2015. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  5. ^ ""We know we have to work on awareness level," says Epic's Mahesh Samat". Indian Television.com. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  6. ^ a b "India's first genre-specific Hindi entertainment channel, The EPIC Channel, to go on air". Times of India. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  7. ^ Team, Tellychakkar (10 March 2014). "Pia Benegal designs costumes for Samvidhaan". Tellychakkar.com. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Siyaasat: Celebration turns into a murder plot". The Times of India. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
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