"Taj: Divided By Blood" Movie Reviewed

Introduction

In a fantasy world, Anarkali is kept by Jalaluddin Akbar in a cage, in which the best-kept secret is hidden. His three sons are now old enough to choose an heir from among them. But the elder Salim falls in love with the mysterious Anarkali and Indian politics adds to the complications.

Review

The trope of adding fiction to historical figures, some of whom actually existed, comes with its own risks and pitfalls. While history has always been written by men and for men in general, women have rarely been allowed to take center stage. The result is that we keep talking about the existence of mysterious characters like Jodha or Anarkali or Rani Padmavati. Creating visual content about them by visualizing their time and place in the system is not an easy task. Of. Asif, Kamal Amrohi, and more recently the dissidents Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ashutosh Gowariker.

Taj: Divided By Blood picks up two of India's most iconic lovers from the kingdom of love, Salim and Anarkali, to re-imagine their story that led to such a tragic end. Somehow this Tries to be a distant cousin of Asif's cult classic Mughal-e-Azam. The story takes place before and after this cult film has its beginning and sequel. Directed by Ron Scalpello, written by William Borthwick and Simon Fantazzo, story by Christopher Butera, and dialogue by Ajay Singh, the show seeks to explore the moments in which it takes place. they are in one.

As said in the beginning, Taj presents such an attractive map that you should be aware of it in terms of content. Sure, the execution is bad, but you can see some very different points there. It mentions Maharana Pratap and his heroism, Secrets of Akbar's Court, a fictional plot where Anarkali is imprisoned behind decorated walls before she meets Salim. Everything looks promising if nothing else. Looks like it has all the right ingredients but with a chef who doesn't know how to cook this dish.

Cast Performance Review

Aashim Gulati sees this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and gives it his all. An actor like Salim tries to show range according to his abilities and does a good job. He plays complex scenes and plays them very well, no doubt there is room for improvement but there is an actor waiting for a good break in that.

Aditi Rao Hydari as Anarkali looks dreamy and mysterious, and it is very natural for her. Though she is true to her role, the screenplay makes no effort to establish her as a tragic mystery. It all depends on how she looks and how she looks at the camera. For a character who is a dancer, there is very little talent around him. I am waiting for Hiramand.

Taha Shah Badusha is inspired by Ranveer Singh from Padmavat. The actor has some really good scenes where he is expected to be mean, but it is the writing that defeats him. Murad is written with a very everyday soap opera lens and it shows. Shubham Kumar Mehra manages to portray a transition and does it well. The actor looks promising in it.

Naseeruddin Shah can turn the most annoying characters to his side, but this time around he looks less annoying half the time. While he may seem like an ideal choice, the way he has been presented makes him come across as unlikable in many places. I can't believe I am saying this about Naseeruddin Shah's performance, but what is true is true.

Criticism

As said, Taj has all the right ingredients, but the fact that not everyone involved in the core team making the show is from the landscape in which the story is set gives it a very broad perspective, looking inside Is. , There is no sense of continuity in the form or experience of this world. For example, sometimes even the costumes don't seem appropriate for the era. They're beautiful, but not nearly as incongruous.

Looking down completely without going into the characters doesn't build a connection between the show and the audience. What rewarding stories, a woman imprisoned for decades, a gay man who aspires to be king, a cursed love story unfolding inside a decorated prison, and a woman who is slowly engulfed in insanity by the circumstances surrounding her. Gets it. But the series doesn't focus on just one of these complex stories.

For a story that brings Salim to the center and makes him fall in love with Anarkali by making him the driving force of the story, the first 6 episodes of the series are minimal. As Salim falls madly in love with her, you as the audience absorb their tender love which makes them overcome the hardships they are about to go through.

There is a complete lack of poetry for a show with so much music and rhythm. A glimpse of this is seen at the end when Anarkali talks to Akbar in jail, but this is just one instance in the 10-episode show. Even the backgrounds look like they were made for the stage and not alive.

Also, whoever was the dialect coach and cared the least bit about how each character spoke should have been told how to maintain continuity. Hit Naseeruddin Shah, everyone forgets their accent and ends up sounding like people from Andheri. Rahul Bose makes it very clear by his actual accent being heavy on Urdu.

Rating

I will give this film 1.5 out of 5 stars. It is up to you to decide whether you want to watch the film in the theater or not.