Shoot at site: Mughal splendour on screens

Earlier this year, when Tanaji Malusare (played by Ajay Devgn) took on the Mughal Empire in Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, the box office went into overdrive. Then, Karan Johar’s Mughal-era drama, Takht, was set to go on the floors but was halted due to the lockdown.

Now, as the country moves to unlock, Nikkhil Advani is all set to start work on his web series titled Moghuls, based on Alex Rutherford’s Empire of the Moghul. The magnum opus was delayed due to the lockdown, but Advani “has now started planning about going ahead with the shooting at the earliest” in Mumbai.

The show, which would reportedly see actors such as Ronit Roy, Dia Mirza and

Shabana Azmi among others, is also slated to be shot in Uzbekistan. “Yes, we aim to finish work in India before moving to Uzbekistan towards the end of the year or when we’re done with the India schedule. By then, hopefully, Covid-19 situation will come under control,” says Advani, adding there is no way he will skip shooting in Uzbekistan due to the Covid-19 fear. “We have to find ways around it, not punish ourselves,” he says.

Interestingly, the Mughal era forms the backdrop for many other projects too. There’s Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s next film, Baiju Bawra, on the legendary musician who was a contemporary of Emperor Akbar’s court singer, Tansen, and a comedy starring Pawan Kalyan and Jacqueline Fernandez. A TV show, Taj – A Monument of

Blood, and an Ekta Kapoorbacked web series on the Mughal queen, Mehrunissa, better known as Noor Jehan, are also in the works.

Actor Shabana Azmi and filmmaker Nikkhil Advani (below)