Taj Series Review: OTT platforms have given a lot of hope for the film makers to work on their scripts, that might not be appealing on the big screens, but can look interesting on small screens if made as a web series. We have seen big stars like Shahid Kapoor, Ajay Devgn also started to appear in web series for different OTT platforms.
Trailer of “Taj: Divided By Blood” series has created some good buzz among the audience with some interesting cast involved and it is available for streaming on Zee5 from today. Let us get into the detailed review of this series, to know if all episodes created the same impact just like the trailer.
Story
The story takes place in the 16th century and is about Akbar and the war between his three sons, Salim, Murad, and Daniyal, over who will be the next king. Each person in the Mughal dynasty has more than one side. Series focuses on the rise and fall of the Mughal Empire over many generations, showing both its beauty and brutality.
Cast & Crew
“Taj: Divided By Blood” stars Naseeruddin Shah, Dharmendra, Aditi Rao Hydari, Aashim Gulati, Taha Shah Badussha, Shubham Kumar Mehra, Rahul Bose, Sandhya Mridul, Zarina Wahab, Padma Damodaran, Pankaj Saraswat, Shivani Tanskale.
Taj: Divided By Blood is written by William Borthwick, Christopher Butera, Simon Fantauzzo, Ajay Singh and directed by Ron Scalpello. This series is produced by Abhimanyu Singh, Roopali Singh. Music of this series is composed by Ian Arber and cinematography is handled by Simon Temple, Tejal Shetye. Editing of this series is taken care by Irfan Ishak, Ben King, Ruchi Barar.
| Series Name | Taj |
|---|---|
| Director | Ron Scalpello |
| Music Director | Ian Arber |
| Producer | Abhimanyu Singh, Roopali Singh |
| Genre | History, Drama |
| Cast | Naseeruddin Shah, Dharmendra, Aditi Rao Hydari, Aashim Gulati, Rahul Bose and others |
| Cinematography | Simon Temple, Tejal Shetye |
Verdict
It was difficult for the film makers to convey the complete history in a 2-3 hours movie. Web series is the best platform to explore their dreams of presenting the history based stories. “Taj: Divided By Blood” is one such story that has to be told in the form of the web series.
Audience who have a thorough knowledge about the Indian history will definitely connect with the characters on screen. This series has all the elements like drama, emotions, romance and everything that could connect with everyone, but the length of each episode might become a hurdle for many as this series has a total of 10 episodes. Though the series feels draggy in few episodes, that is needed to make the drama look realistic.
While it comes to the performances, Naseeruddin Shah once again proves how good he is as a performer on screen and he perfectly fits the role of Akbar. Aashim Gulati is another highlight of this series and he gave a decent performance in the role of Prince Salim. Aditi Rao Hydari looks beautiful on screen and did her part with ease. Taha Shah Badussha, Shubham Kumar Mehra, Rahul Bose and all other actors did their part as required for the characters.
Technically, “Taj: Divided By Blood” series look good. Music composed by Ian Arber is apt for the proceedings. Cinematography handled by Simon Temple, Tejal Shetye is another major highlight in the series. Art & costume department should definitely be appreciated for their efforts in recreating the world of 1600’s. VFX could have been better in few scenes. Production values are very good.
Director Ron Scalpello succeeded in engaging the audience with his story telling, though the length of the series is a little disappointment.
Overall, “Taj: Divided By Blood” series is a worth streaming series that can be watched for its grandeur in making and some effortless performances from the lead cast.
Plus Points:
- Art
- Costumes
- Performances
Minus Points:
- Lengthy episodes
- Few over dramatic scenes
Rating: 3/5
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