Siyaasat is an Indian Hindi television period drama series which aired on The EPIC Channel. The show is an adaptation of the popular book "The Twentieth Wife" by author Indu Sundaresan. The story revolves around Mughal politics, inter-personal conflicts, sabotage, grandeur, power and the love between Prince Salim and Mehrunissa also known as Nur Jahan, who was Salim's twentieth and final wife.
Siyaasat is a drama about the Mughal political battle for Akbars' throne entwined with the Salim- Mehrunissa love story, a couple who fought against all odds to become a formidable alliance which altered the course of Mughal politics and charted their path into Indian history.
The show premiered on 20 November 2014 with 42 episodes, with episode duration of 60 minutes.
Uday Tikekar as Emperor Akbar
Deepika Amin as Empress Ruqaiya Sultan Begum (addressed as "Padshah Begum" while Akbar is alive and as "Badi Begum" later), Akbar's chief wife and Prince Salim's step-mother
Karanvir Sharma/Sudhanshu Pandey as Prince Salim (Emperor Jahangir), Akbar's eldest son
Neetha Shetty as Maan Bai, Salim's first wife and mother of Prince Khusrau.
Nayani Dixit as Jagat Gosaini, Salim's second wife and the mother of Prince Khurram (future Emperor Shah Jahan).
Charu Shankar as Mehrunissa (Empress Nur Jahan), wife of Ali Quli Sher Afgan and illicit lover of Prince Salim. She eventually marries her lover, the emperor Jehangir.
Jannat Zubair Rahmani as Young Mehrunissa
KC Shankar as Ali Quli (Sher Afghan), a nobleman and husband of Mehrunnisa, who hates Prince Salim because the latter is Mehrunnisa's illicit lover
Pawan Chopra as Mirza Ghias Beg, Mehrunnisa's father
Suparna Marwah as Asmat Begum, Mehrunnisa's mother
Gurpreet Saini as Prince Murad, second son of Akbar
Mokshad Dodwani as Prince Daniyal, third son of Akbar
Bikramjeet Kanwarpal as Abu'l-Fazl, a beloved friend, advisor and courtier of Emperor Akbar
Nagesh Salwan as Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, a courtier of Akbar and Salim who later supports prince Khusrau in his rebellion against his father Salim (Emperor Jehangir)
Kavin Dave as Qutubuddin Koka, courtier loyal to Salim, appointed commander-in-chief after Salim becomes Emperor
Omkar Kapoor as Mahabat Khan, courtier loyal to Salim, appointed Grand Vazier after Salim becomes Emperor
Ashraf Nagoo as Hoshiyar Khan
Rupali as Nadira
The show is produced by Green Light Productions. The show has been shot across various scenic locales in Rajasthan and real palaces of Bikaner. Siyaasat brings alive the decadent lifestyle, architecture, art, and stories of the Mughal royalty.
