After the success of Mahabharat, Swastik Productions is back with another historical on the small screen. Their next offering, Razia Sultan, will trace the journey of the most noteworthy woman emperor in the 13th century
She looks too sweet, calm and composed to be playing the princess who once ruled Delhi. But she assures that we will see her on screen as a true-blue royal born with inherent qualities of a warrior. Also she says that her ‘sweet’ looks will help her portray the transformation of Razia Sultan from an abiding daughter to the only woman ruler of both the Sultanate and the Mughal period.
Actress Pankhuri Awasthi will be playing the lead historical character in the period drama Razia Sultan by Swastik Productions. The show that will go on air on newly launched channel &TV from March 2 will trace the journey of the most noteworthy woman emperor in the 13th century.
After setting standards high for historical shows on the small screen with Mahabharat, the production house says that every effort has been made to ensure that Razia Sultan stands true to the expectations. “Whatever has gone from our table so far has gone after enough research and thorough study. We have never followed trends in the industry, rather we have been the trendsetters.
So in terms of storytelling, production values or even acting we have tried to achieve a certain level of excellence with Razia Sultan,” says producer Rahul Tewary. While the magnum opus like Mahabharat went on floor after almost four years of research, it was in about a year that Razia Sultan was ready.
“While doing Mahabharat, the challenges were very different in nature as compared to this show. Most of us have seen Mahabharat on the small screen before. We are familiar with the characters, so it was a challenge to interpret the story and the characters in such a contemporary way that it appeals to the present-day audience. But Razia Sultan is a story that not many people are aware of.
It was something totally new, even for us. Even after doing our research to get the facts right, we took three to four months to decide how we wanted to visualise the story to be told on the small screen. Post that, we approached the channel and they instantly showed interest because the story of Razia Sultan is a fascinating one. Moreover, it is relevant to present times.
At a time when we are talking about women empowerment, here is the story of a princess who went on to rule Delhi. Razia Sultan was way ahead of her time and her father Iltutmish had the courage to believe in his daughter to be the worthy successor of his throne. It is an extremely interesting story and to narrate that story effectively we have made sure that we employ the best production standards. History on television should be told in a certain way to inform the audience about the era that was and we try and recreate that era,” adds Rahul.
The producers are not sure if this will be a finite series. “Since it is a long story and there are too many facts to be shared, we are not working on it as a finite series. But we will ensure that the story doesn’t loses its historical track because we believe that any historical should not be overtly dramatised,” says Rahul.
The production house was in news for making Ashoka, which is now being made by Contiloe for Colors, before Razia Sultan. Without divulging much details, Rahul says that “Ashoka is a great story and we were making it but somehow things did not work out.”