The ZEE5 original Taj, which has two seasons, has received a great response from the audience. The show stars Dharmendra, Naseeruddin Shah, Rahul Bose, Aditi Rao Hydari, Zarina Wahab, Sandhya Mridul, Aashim Gulati, and Taaha Shah in principal roles and is produced by Contiloe Pictures.
Set in the 16th century, the series follows Akbar and the war of succession among his 3 sons: Salim, Murad, and Daniyal. Vibhu Puri, the director of the two-season ZEE5, says that contrary to popular belief he believes that the Mughals were not invaders who came to India to plunder the country.
I sincerely believe they were not invaders. They never came with the idea of plundering the country, and then going back and establishing themselves somewhere else,” Puri tells Indian Express.
He further added, “They came in, fell in love with India, and ruled the country. They are as Hindustani as any other emperors in our history. And like with every empire, they brought their own cultural values, music, art, and religion.”
Puri reiterated that he does not ‘personally think they were invaders’. “Some of them may have been barbaric, some were not. There were family feuds for sure but kahan nahi hote hai? I think any empire, any throne is written in blood. There has never been a peaceful treaty or succession, and it doesn’t even happen in contemporary times. We have never been a peaceful race,” he said.
Talking about his fascination with the Mughals, he said, “It has been part of our growing up. The Taj Mahal is ours; the Mughal Garden is ours, and even Lal Qila (Red Fort), we still hoist the national flag there. If they were plunderers, we wouldn’t have celebrated that. These are part of our ethos and they cannot take that away from us.”
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