'Taj - Divided by Blood,' a new original series from ZEE5, is based on the interesting Mughal succession saga!

14th February, Mumbai: ZEE5, India’s largest homegrown OTT platform and multilingual storyteller, announced its biggest original series so far, ‘Taj – Divided by Blood’. Produced by Contiloe Digital along with William Borthwick as the showrunner, Simon Fantauzzo as the writer and Ronald Scalpello as the director, ‘Taj – Divided by Blood’ is a revelatory telling of the inner workings and the succession drama that played out in the hallowed chambers of the Mughal empire.

The show was announced in a grandeur way in Mumbai amidst the presence of veteran actor Dharmendra, the stunning Aditi Rao Hydari, handsome men - Aashim Gulati, Taha Shah, Shubham Kumar Mehra and the versatile Sandhya Mridul along with spokespeople Manish Kalra (Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 India), Nimisha Pandey (Chief Content Officer – Hindi Originals, ZEE5) and Producer Abhimanyu Singh of Contiloe Digital. At Mumbai’s most popular hangout spot, Carter Road promenade, the show’s logo was unveiled by drawing the curtains and lighting a 40-feet logo structure on fire leaving the audience stunned and excited.

‘Taj – Divided by Blood’ encapsulates the reign of King Akbar who is on a quest to find a worthy successor for his grand legacy. The series dramatizes the rise and fall of the generations that follow, showcasing the beauty and brutality of this great dynasty, their passion for arts, poetry and architecture, but at the same time their remarkably cold-blooded decisions with regards to their own family, in the quest for power.

‘Taj – Divided by Blood’ stars a worthy ensemble cast comprising of Naseeruddin Shah as King Akbar, Aditi Rao Hydari as Anarkali, Aashim Gulati as Prince Salim, Taha Shah as Prince Murad, Shubham Kumar Mehra as Prince Daniyal, Sandhya Mridul as Queen Jodha Bai, Zareena Wahab as Queen Salima, Sauraseni Maitra as Mehr un Nisa, Rahul Bose as Mirza Hakim and Dharmendra as Sheikh Salim Christi. The series also stars Subodh Bhave, Aayam Mehta, Deepraj Rana, Shivani Tanksale, Padma Damodharan, Pankaj Saraswat, Digambar Prasad and Zachary Coffin in supporting roles.

Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 India said,“As a consumer first brand, our strategy has been to invest in high quality content with best in class viewing experience; and ‘Taj – Divided by Blood’ is our most ambitious project which encapsulates the Mughal era and the war for dynasty unlike ever-before. We are excited to bring forth this epic saga of war and succession which will unravel many untold stories to our viewers. We are confident that this magnum opus will excite and entertain our viewers and reinstate ZEE5 as India’s foremost storytellers”.

Nimisha Pandey, Chief Content Officer – Hindi Originals, ZEE5 said, “Taj is a succession drama set against the majestic Mughal backdrop. We have witnessed the stories of the great battles of this era, but this is a story of the war that ensued within the walls of the sultanate. What made it exciting was to look at these historical figures as humans with ambitions, desires and flaws and more importantly a family that had to make difficult choices. A brilliant team from across the globe has brought this series to life. We are excited for the viewers to immerse themselves in this world and witness the chapters that got left out of the history books”.

Producer Abhimanyu Singh, Contiloe Digital said,“The story of the Mughals has always been shown through the rose-tinted glasses of romance.  Ours is an endeavour to show the true succession battle, one with deceit, political machinations and the dark side of the camelot.  As we consider this a global story for the peacock throne, we have conjured a great team of global talent to collaborate with us to tell this epic tale. It is always a pleasure partnering with ZEE5 and we're excited to be bringing Taj in association with them”.