Taj: Reign Of Revenge as the successor of Taj: Divided By Blood is a stellar addition that doesn’t disappoint for the most part but manages to invest and entangle you even deeper into the uneven lore of Mughal dynasty, preferably one that is told from the perspective of an old Akbar. It carves out the motives of a burly king who is bewildered and puzzled over the task of choosing a rightful heir for his extensive empire. Naseeruddin Shah, Aashim Gulati and Shubham Kumar Mehra aptly recreate one of the significant chapters from the pages of history through characters like Akbar, Jehangir and Daniyal Mirza.
The second season sees a leap of 15 years and commences in a similar fashion like Season 1. With the unabated storm of revenge brooding inside Shah Salim(played by Aashim Gulati) and a contemptuous Shah Daniyal(played by Shubham Kumar Mehra), Akbar traces his footsteps back to Sheikh Salim Chisti (played by Dharmendra) to get elucidated about the future of his dynasty, with no rightful successor in sights. To Akbar’s dismay, the sapient sage prophecies that the flourishing Mughal Empire will be squandered if it is not handed to Salim. Meanwhile,
Salim’s sons Khurram and Khusrau are grown ups now and are fuelled by the concubines of Akbar Ruqqaiya, still vying for power. Abo Fazl and Badayun are surreptitiously formulating heinous schemes to claim their morsels.
Amid all that pandemonium, Bakht-un-Nissa emerges as another important cog of the story that plays a paramount role in Salim’s life. And with Salim back in the picture, with the pain and angst of his beloved Anarkali’s loss, he is a grisly force not to be reckoned with. Yet, the Mughal prince has poise, etiquette and composure in his conduct. Despite coming face to face with the murderer of his beloved, Salim restrains himself in lieu of achieving bigger goals. The strained equations between Akbar, Salim and Daniyal and in extension the rest of the characters propel the story in the first part of the second season.
The four episodes created by Abhimanyu Singh and helmed by Vibhu Puri do nowhere get diluted in the terms of opulence in production, the noteworthy details seen in sets, costumes and dialogues. What adds more weight in this season are some new characters and how they have been fleshed out. Ali Quli is a good example of that, whose stature and strength is uncannily similar to Gregor Clegane from Games Of Thrones. The misogyny and masochism he exudes is balanced by Bakht-un-Nissa’s shrewdness and charm. These two characters won’t make you feel the absence of Taaha Shah Badushaha and Aditi Rao Hydari.
The premise of this season starts off slow just like the first season but there are enough histrionics and conspiracies unraveling in the backdrop that’ll hook you instantly, especially if you had followed the first season religiously. Although the show remains comparatively bland in the first two episodes, the third episode ups the stakes by introducing a shocking development that will catch you off-guard. The father-son equations between Salim and Khusrau and Khurram is yet another interesting arc tastefully written in lieu with the resentment they have harboured against Salim, fuelled by their foster mother. One would also root for a remorseful Akbar trying his best to burn bridges with Salim. There is something endearing and heartwarming about how the makers portray this bond.
Interestingly, this season gave more screen space to Dharmendra and he came through like a true legendary actor. Naseeruddin Shah as Akbar, Aashim Gulati as Salim and Shubham Kumar Mehra as Daniyal exude consistency in their performances from the first season. Sandhya Mridul, Padma Damodaram, Ayaam Mehta are another set of performances one should look out for. Aaryama Salim and Rouhallah Qazim have delivered balanced performances considering the characters they play are new to the convoluted story. Apart from them, Jiansh Aggarwal as Khusrau and Mittansh Lulla as Khurram look convincing for their roles.
Hence, Taj: Reign of Revenge is as fresh and authentic as the first season and consists of some exciting plot twists that might take some time to unfurl, but when they do, one would genuinely want to dive deeper into the complicated lives of the doyens of Mughal Empire that once ruled the length and breadth of this nation. The part one concludes on a cliffhanger and a sneak peek with what’s about to come in the second set of four episodes.
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