Taj- Divided By Blood review: Naseeruddin Shah and Aditi Rao Hydari sail the series through its flaws

Cast: Dharmendra, Naseeruddin Shah, Aditi Rao Hydari, Taha Shah, Rahul Bose

Director: Ron Scalpello

Language: Hindi

That Ron Scalpello has chosen an ensemble of fresh and (nearly) forgotten names for his series Taj- Divided By Blood is its biggest asset and most crippling liability. It’s a joy to watch names like Rahul Bose and Sandhya Mridul after what feels like ages. And it’s always arresting to witness seasoned performers like Dharmendra and Naseeruddin Shah (Their Tahalka is still a guilty pleasure). This series that’s now streaming on Zee5 has been credited with four writers and two cinematographers. So what happens is that the naïveté in the performances is often compensated by staggering camerawork.

Right in the first episode, a sword fighting scene is mostly shot by top angles and side angles to maybe deviate from the lack of intensity in the actors’ demeanor. Taha Shah as Murad is little hammy and Sandhya Mridul as Jodha frowns more than the character deserves. Rahul Bose, the evil Mirza Hakim puts his best sword forward, but the glaring inconsistencies in the visual effects and those inevitable comparisons act as major hurdles. It’s commendable all these actors have gone beyond their comfort and attempted a series of this magnitude and complexities, but that’s sadly not enough.

The veteran star Dharmendra makes an early appearance and gets to recite some impressive dialogues to a young Akbar. And this Mughal emperor grows up to be Naseeruddin Shah, and the man holds the show on his towering shoulders. So does the always luminous Aditi Rao Hydari. Pain and pathos is something she can pull off even in her sleep, but the camera adores her fragility and frustration. But the makers cannot escape from the inevitability of portraying sex due to the absence of censorship on OTT, those scenes reek of pretense more than passion.

It’s nothing but a curse that whatever in this space has been attempted is compared directory to the world of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and SS Rajamouli. Taj cannot escape that monster. It does try its best to humanize nearly all its characters, especially that of Salim. He yearns for love more than pining for the throne. The first episode ends on an almost haunting note, the camera zooms straight into the gleam in Anarkali’s (Hydari) eyes when she overhears the conversation between Salim and Jodha. Also commendable is how debutant Shubham Kumar’s vulnerability blends into the role he plays here. He’s fragile and frightened, and has his own sexual preferences. But these pieces of impressive performances and scenes don’t come together to make one coherent show.

Let’s just say if Padmaavat and Samrat Prithviraj had a baby, it would be Taj- Divided By Blood. It aims for sweep and swagger, but is seldom marred by its shortcomings.

Rating: 2.5 (out of 5 stars)

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