The much-awaited historical period drama series Taj: Divided by Blood will be released on Zee5 on March 3, 2023. With the release of Taj: Divided by Blood, the deeper and darker secrets of India's rich Mughal empire will be revealed. Directed by a set of filmmakers such as Ron Scalpello, Ajay Singh, Vibhu Puri and Prashant Singh, Taj: Divided By Blood talks about a specific period during Akbar's reign in India that chronicles the war of succession between Salim, Murad, and Daniyal, the three sons of the great king. Ever since Taj: Divided By Blood trailer has been released, fans are eagerly waiting for the web series. Courtesy of its starcast and riveting storyline, Taj: Divided By Blood is expected to become the next big thing on the streaming platform and expected to perform good for the OTT platform Zee5. Talking about the starcast, Taj: Divided By Blood features actors like Dharmendra, Naseeruddin Shah, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sandhya Mridul, Zarina Wahab, Aashim Gulati, Taha Shah, Shubham Kumar Mehra, and last but not the least Rahul Bose. Now, the question arises whether Taj: Divided by Blood is a true story or Taj: Divided by Blood is a real story or not.
The answer is yes and no at the same time. Taj: Divided by Blood is a true story based on India's Mughal period when Akbar the great was ruling the nation. Although it is labeled as fictional historic drama, fans should expect some dramatization in the upcoming series, but overall the storyline is based on historical facts. Now, the question arises, what story or storyline fans should expect from Taj: Divided by Blood? To be precise, Taj: Divided By Blood talks about a specific period during Akbar's reign in India that chronicles the war of succession between Salim, Murad, and Daniyal, the three sons of the great king. Going by trailer of Taj: Divided By Blood, Akbar lays down some new rules for choosing the heir to his throne. Akabr says that the choice of an heir will not be based on the traditional age factor but will be based on who is the most capable one. This particular starts an infighting among sons of Akbar. However, everything changes when Anarkali enters the story.
Notably, Taj: Divided By Blood shows how Anarkali became one of the most controversial figures of Akbar's court and how her presence threatened the Great King. Now, coming to Taj: Divided By Blood real story, here's what you should know-
Who succeeded Akbar?
Taj Divided By Blood OTT release date: When & where to watch Naseeruddin Shah's period drama
It was Salim who succeded Akbar into the 'Game of Thrones' Salim took the title of Jahangir after his father, Akbar's death. The full name of Salim is Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim. He was the fourth Mughal Emperor and ruled from 1605 to 1627 till he died. Prince Salim took over the throne in 1605. Only eight days after his father's death. He remained emperor for a period of 22-year from the age of 36. Salim got the post of Mansabdar of ten thousand (Das-Hazari). It was the highest military rank of the empire (after the emperor) at that time. Only at the age of twelve, he independently commanded a regiment in the Kabul campaign of 1581. Salim was married to Man Bai, on 13 February 1585 and she gave birth to their first son Khusrau Mirza. Later he was married to many girls but her favourite was Jagat Gosain Begum. She is the mother of Prince Khurram, the future Shah Jahan. Salim later married the beautiful and talented Mehr-un-Nisa (better known as Nur Jahan) on 25 May 1611.
Who was Anarkali?
Now, coming to Anarkali, she was a legendary slave girl from Lahore (Pakistan) during the Mughal period. She was supposedly ordered to be buried alive by Mughal emperor Akbar for having an illicit relationship with Prince Nuruddin Salim later to become Emperor Jahangir. However, whether Anarkali was a real character in the history or not is still debatable. The reason being the lack of evidence and sources, the story of Anarkali is widely accepted to be either false or heavily embellished. Nevertheless, her story is cherished by many and has been adapted into literature, art and cinema. Whether, Anarkali existed or not, her legend has mesmerised the people of South Asia. It is pertinent to mention here that multiple reports suggest that a tomb thought to be that of Anarkali, is situated on the premises of the Punjab Civil Secretariat (Lahore) and now houses the Punjab Records Office. Previously, it had been transformed into a Christian church by the invading British. A bazaar (market) located nearby on The Mall Road is named Anarkali bazaar after Anarkali. It is one of the oldest surviving markets in South Asia, dating back at least 200 years.