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*Jodha Akbar*
Jodha Akbar
Genre	Historical drama
Created by	Ekta Kapoor
Developed by	Ekta Kapoor
Screenplay by	R M Joshi ; Anil Nagpal ; Binita Desai ; Manish Paliwal ; Kirtida Gautam ; Neha Singh ; Mayuri Roy Chaudhary; Sahil Dogra ; Koel Chaudhuri ; Dialogues; Dheeraj Sarna
Directed by	Santram Varma; Ranjan Singh; Vicky Chauhan; Arshad Yunus Khan; Kadar Kazi(kk)
Creative directors	Shaalu; Kadar kazi(kk)
Starring	Rajat Tokas; Paridhi Sharma
Theme music composer	Lalit Sen
Country of origin	India
Original languages	Hindi; Urdu
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	566
Production
Producers	Ekta Kapoor; Shobha Kapoor
Production locations	Jaipur; Karjat
Cinematography	Santosh Suryavashi
Editors	Vikas Sharma; Vishal Sharma; Sandeep Bhatt
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	24 minutes
Production company	Balaji Telefilms
Original release
Network	Zee TV
Release	18 June 2013 –; 7 August 2015

Jodha Akbar was an Indian historical drama television series that aired from June 18, 2013 to August 7, 2015 on Zee TV. The show was produced by Ekta Kapoor under Balaji Telefilms, and had starred Rajat Tokas and Paridhi Sharma. Critics have praised the series for its acting performances, scope, soundtrack and production values.

Plot

Jalaluddin Mohammad, a warrior and son of Emperor Humayun and Hameeda Bano Begum, became the Emperor of the Mughal dynasty at a very young age. He is influenced by his regent Bairam Khan and his foster mother Maham Anga. Khan trains Jalal to be a ruthless ruler and control his kingdom through terror and fear. Jalal becomes a heartless and fearsome ruler whom the people dislike. He desires to conquer the entire Hindustaan and the golden Rajputana. Jodha Bai, princess of Amer, daughter of Raja Bharmal and Rani Mainavati, is a kind and intelligent young girl who believes that rule is spread by love and togetherness, not by force.

When Jodha is at a temple to offer prayers on her birthday, along with Moti Bai, her friend, a band of mughal soldiers enter the temple to loot the jewellery on the goddess. When Moti tries to stop them, they try to molest her. Angered, Jodha pledges to destroy Jalal and present his head before the goddess. Later, Moti, embarrassed by the turn of events, attempts to commit suicide, but Jodha prevents her.

Meanwhile, Jalal, with the help of Sujamal, attacks Amer and wins the battle. He demands high monthly taxes from Amer and keeps Jodha's brothers as hostages. Later, when Sharifuddin continued to increase his demands, King Bharmal's friend suggests that he should meet Jalal to negotiate. During the meeting, Bharmal's friend advises him to marry Jodha to Jalal. Jodha disagrees and tries to poison herself, but after much persuasion agrees to the marriage for Amer's safety, but with two conditions: to remain a Hindu after her marriage and to carry the statue of Krishna with her to Agra. Jalal agrees despite the protests of his courtiers and advisors, as he wants to humiliate her in return of her insults. After the marriage, Jodha maintains her distance. Later, Jalal's wife and childhood friend, Rukaiya, becomes pregnant. The kingdom rejoices at the thought of an heir, but the happiness is short-lived as Maham Anga poisons Rukaiya, leading to a miscarriage. Anga frames Jodha and her family for the miscarriage, but Jodha is proved innocent. Jalal accepts his mistake and feels guilty for doubting Jodha. He gives Jodha freedom to divorce him and head back to Amer if she wishes. Jodha accepts but her mother refuses. Jodha tries to commit suicide but Jalal saves her. Jalal develops sympathy for Jodha. He realizes how lonely she has become. He starts spending more time with her, and Jodha realizes Jalal means well for his people.

Jalal and Jodha finally fall in love. Jodha becomes pregnant with twins, one of whom Rukaiya claims. While Jalal denies this claim, Jodha promises her one of the twins. The twins are killed shortly after birth, their death plotted by Jalal's enemies, who hunts them down and kills them. The death of the twins leaves the kingdom in sorrow, and Jalal, Jodha and Rukaiya are devastated. Jodha and Jalal again grow distant while Jalal turns into his former cruel self to avenge his sons' lives. He stays away from his court in Salim's sanctuary, along with Jodha for two years. Jodha and Jalal reconcile, and Jodha becomes pregnant, giving birth to another son whom Jalal names Salim. Jalal and Jodha return to the court and upon seeing the child, Rukaiya tries to claim him, but is met by Jalal's wrath. She then vows to destroy Salim.

Salim, a few years older, is loved by everyone. He meets a girl named Nadhira, who is the daughter of the woman who once saved Salim's life when he was a baby. Nadhira and Salim instantly dislike each other. Salim is manipulated by Rukaiya through wine and drugs. She plants false scenarios in his mind to make him hate his parents, and entices him into women and addictions. His behaviour becomes more irrational, leading to the banishment of Nadhira and her family. This angers Jalal to the point that he sends Salim to live in a war field until he becomes an adult. Salim grows up to be indifferent, hating his parents, but having a soft spot for Rukaiya. Upon returning to Agra, Salim bonds with his brothers but never seeks his parents. He falls in love with a girl, Anarkali, only to discover she is Nadhira. She had changed her name to find work in Agra. Salim hates her, believing he had been betrayed.

Salim and Anarkali work out their relationship problems. Rukaiya's true intentions are unveiled. Salim realises his mistakes and regrets not trusting his parents more.

Cast

Main

Rajat Tokas as Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar: 3rd Mughal Emperor; Humayun and Hamida Banu's son
Paridhi Sharma as "Mariam-uz-Zamani" Jodha Bai: Amer's former princess; Bharmal and Mainawati's daughter; one of Akbar's three senior consorts; later, Mallika-e-Hind
Bhumika Chheda as Jodha's sister
Smiley Suri / Lavina Tandon as Ruqaiya Sultan Begum: Jalal's first wife and chief consort
- Jagrati Sethia as young Ruqaiya Sultan Begum

Manisha Yadav as Salima Sultan Begum: Bairam Khan's widow; one of Jalal's three senior consorts; Rahim's adoptive mother
Chhaya Ali Khan as "Mariam Makani" Hamida Banu Begum: Padshah Begum during Jalal's reign; Humayun's widow; Jalal and Bakshi Banu's mother
Ashwini Kalsekar as Maham Anga: Jalal's foster mother and one of his wet nurses; Adham Khan's biological mother
Ravi Bhatia as Salim:^[2] Jalal and Jodha's son; Anarkali's love interest
- Ayaan Zubair Rahmani as child Salim
Heena Parmar as Anarkali: Rashid Khan and Zil Bahar's daughter; Salim's love interest
- Saniya Touqeer as child Nadira/Anarkali

Recurring

Naved Aslam as Bairam Khan: Rahim's father; Salima Sultan's late husband; Akbar's former mentor and caretaker
Chetan Hansraj as
- Adham Khan: Maham Anga's son; Haider's father
- Haider Khan: Adham Khan and Javeda's son
Prianca Shharma as Javeda Begum: Adham Khan's wife; Haider Khan's mother
Parag Tyagi as Sharifuddin Hussain: Khwaja Moin's son; Bakshi Banu's estranged husband; Mehtab's father
Sonakshi More as Bakshi Banu Begum: Mughal princess; Jalal's half-sister; Sharifuddin's estranged wife; Mehtab's mother
Lokendra Rajawat as Shamsuddin Atgah Khan:
Amarpreet Rait as Jiji Anga: Atgah Khan's wife; one of Jalal's wet nurses
Rajeev Saxena as Raja Bharmal
Natasha Sinha as Rani Mainawati
Kunal Bhatia / Unknown as Rajkumar Bhagwant Das: Maan Singh and Maan Bai's father
Nupur Saxena / Unknown as Rai Kanwar: Bhagwant's wife; Maan Singh and Maan Bai's mother
Ankit Raizada as Maan Singh
Jyotsna Chandola as Maan Bai
Ankita Dubey / Ankita Chaudhry as Moti Bai: Jodha's maid
Kaif Ali Khan / Ayush Anand as Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan: Bairam Khan's son with his deceased wife; Jalal and Salima Sultan's adoptive son
- Veer Lodaya as child Rahim
Vicky Batra as Kunwar Sujamal: Bharmal's nephew; Jodha's cousin
Gandharva Pardeshi as Rajkumar Jaganath
Dev Bishit as Rajkumar Khangar
Akhil Vaid as Rajkumar Raj Singh
Dharti Bhatt as Sukanya
Pragati Choursiya as Shivani
Farida Dadi as Bharmal's mother; Jodha's grandmother
Gagan Kang as Abul Maali
Pranav Misshra as Mirza Muhammad Hakim: Humayun and Mah Chuchak's son
Mita Vashisht as Mah Chuchak Begum: Humayun's widow; Jalal's enemy
Shilpa Raizada as Nigaar: Humayun and Chaand's daughter
Unknown as Chaand Begum: Nigaar's mother
Nisha Pareek as Naazima Begum: she lives in the Harem (Palace of Queens)
Kiran Shergill as Ruksaar Begum: Daniyal Mirza's mother; she lives in the Harem (Palace of Queens)
Shraddha Singh^[3] as Gulbadan: who wrote a book on the history of King Humayun
Ashok Devaliya as Hoshiyar Khan: servant (Kasim) of Ruqaiya
Manoj Patel as Resham Khan: faithful servant (Kasim) of Maham Anga
Unknown as Naazneem Begum: including the wife of Jalal; she lives in the Harem (Palace of Queens)
Vaibhav Singh as Aziz Koka: Atgah Khan's son
Vijay Badlani as Ramtanu Pandey aka Tansen: a Rajput musician
Shaurya Singh / Lokesh Batta as Todarmal
Unknown as Urmila: Todarmal's wife
Gopal Singh as Mahesh Das aka Birbal
Sweety Walia as Mahesh Das's wife
Unknown as adult Mehtab: Sharifuddin and Bakshi Bano's daughter
- Sumbul Touqeer as child Mehtab
Shoaib Khan as child Haider
Sheezan Khan as
- Sultan Murad Mirza
- Young Akbar
- Ricky Patel as child Murad Mirza
Gaurav Sharma as Sultan Daniyal Mirza: Ruksaar's son
- Unknown as child Daniyal Mirza
Kunal Khosla as Qutubuddin Koka
- Unknown as child Qutub
Angel Fernandes as child Aaram Bano
Unknown as Shakrunnisa
Geet Sharma as Khanum
Anurag Sharma as Maharana Pratap
Ajay Paul Singh Andotra as Lakshman Das: Minister Amer
Bhakti Narula as Lilavati
Kalyani Trivedi / Zarina Roshan Khan as Shagunibai: clairvoyant
Javed Pathan as Sheikh Gadai
Harjeet Walia as Chugtai Khan: King Bharmal's best friend
Prince Singh as Suryabhan Singh
Aryan Maheshwari as one of the palace officials
Sanjeev Jaiswal as King Achal Singh
Zeba Hussain as Chanda: servant in the Kingdom of Amer
Riney Aryaa as Saira
Manju Raizada as royal healer
Meghna Naidu as Benazir
Juhi Aslam as Zakira
Unknown as Tejwant: an ordinary craftsman; Shivani's husband
Bobby Kumar as Atemat: a dancer (Kasim). He appeared in the episode of Sujamal's case about sending a letter to Jodha and he also witnessed with his own eyes that Atgah Khan was killed by Adham Khan. (2013)
Ketan Karande as Khaibar Zaara
Gaurrav Walia as Amaanullah Khan
Surbhi Singh as Sakeena/Atifa
Manish Bishla as Mirza Kasim
Chetna Kaintura as Zeenat
Raanveer Chahal as Rashid Khan: Nadira/Anarkali's father
Unknown as Zil Bahar: Nadira/Anarkali's mother
Unknown as adult Sakina: Nadira's childhood friend
Unknown as child Sakina
Unknown as adult Qadir
Mohammed Saud Mansuri as child Qadir (2014)
Unknown as Fatima: an old woman who was Qadir's grandmother
Amit Sehgal as Abu Fazal
Shiv Mishra as priest at the temple while Jodha was praying for Qadir's recovery
Rohit Joshi as Farhan: Salim's friend
Unknown as Jagat Gossai: daughter of king Uday Singh; princess of Jodhpur; Maan Bai's friend
Munendra Singh Kushwah as Raja Khambar Singh: the king of an inland tribe
Unknown as Bela: King Khambar's daughter
Babita Anant as Kaushalya: villagers
Vishnu Bholwani as Jagdev
Abhilash Chaudhary as Raja Drumak
Melanie Pais as Laboni
Kamalika Guha Thakurta as Laboni's Mother
Kishan Bhan as Taantrik

Historical accuracy

Certain Rajput groups claimed Jodhaa was married to Akbar's son, Jahangir, not Akbar. Individuals protested against the show along with Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap, another historical series that aired on Sony TV.^[4]

The title of the series was criticised by members of the Kshatriya community as a misleading, politically motivated historical revision that minimised Rajput history. The community protested against the series in Rajasthan, and alleged that if the name was not changed, they would not allow any Balaji Telefilms productions to be released in the state.^[4] Ekta Kapoor stated, "I always believe it's 80% history and 20% folklore. There are enough proofs that say it's true, but then some people say it's not. Akbar had a certain graph and we know that. We cannot negate that he changed his heart from a power-hungry ruler to a non-biased one because of his Rajput queen."^[5]

Production

Rajat Tokas during the shooting of the *Jodha Akbar* at ND Studios, Karjat.

The producer of the show, Ekta Kapoor was influenced by the 2008 big screen movie, Jodhaa Akbar, directed by Bollywood's Ashutosh Gowariker.^[6]^[7]

Rajat Tokas who had earlier worked with Ekta Kapoor in the soap opera, Tere Liye was selected to play the role of the protagonist Akbar.^[8]^[9]

Ekta Kapoor stated she conducted 7000 auditions for the female protagonist Jodha across the nation before selecting Paridhi Sharma.^[10]

Ashwini Kalsekar was selected to play the role of Maham Anga, Akbar's primary caretaker and protector.^[11]

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result
2013	Indian Television Academy Awards	Best Historical/Mythological Show	Ekta Kapoor	Won^[12]
		Best Actor in Negative Role	Chetan Hansraj	Won^[12]
		Best Actress in Negative Role	Ashwini Kalsekar
		Best Art Direction	Sandesh and Vishwanath
		Best Costumes	Nidhi Yasha
		Best Actor (Drama)	Rajat Tokas
	BIG Star Entertainment Awards	BIG Star Most Entertaining TV Show (Fiction)	Ekta Kapoor	Won^[13]
	BIG Star Entertainment Awards	BIG Star Most Entertaining TV Actor	Rajat Tokas	Won^[13]
2014	Star Guild Awards	Best Historical Series	Ekta Kapoor	Won^[14]
		Best Director (Fiction)	Santram Verma
		Best Actor in Leading Role	Rajat Tokas
	7th Boroplus Gold Awards	Best Actress in Negative Role (Critics)	Ashwini Kalsekar	Won^[15]
		Best Actor in Negative Role (Critics)	Chetan Hansraj
		Best Actress in Supporting Role (Critics)	Lavina Tandon
		Golden Debutante of the year(Female)	Paridhi Sharma
		Best Actor in a Lead Role (Critics)	Rajat Tokas
		Best Television Show of the Year (Fiction)	Ekta Kapoor
	Indian Telly Awards	Best Actress in Negative Role	Ashwini Kalsekar	Won^[16]
		Best Fresh New Face (Female)	Paridhi Sharma
		Best Actor in a Lead Role	Rajat Tokas
		Best Ensemble Cast	Ekta Kapoor
		Best Historical Series	Ekta Kapoor
2015	Star Guild Awards	Best Ongoing Drama Series	Ekta Kapoor	Won^[17]