One look at the trailer of The Empire, and zealous Indian netizens immediately drew comparisons with the iconic Game of Thrones. While the comparisons are premature, there’s no denying that creator Nikkhil Advani has taken on an ambitious task — through the eight-part Disney+ Hotstar offering that is adapted from the first book in Alex Rutherford’s Empire of the Moghul series, he will offer a retelling of the life and times of Mughal emperor Babur up until the First Battle of Panipat in 1526. With the material of this nature at hand, wasn’t he inclined to design it as an elaborate big-screen outing? “This story can’t be told in two hours; that would be gross injustice to the book. Our intention is to adapt all six books in the series,” begins Advani. 

The creator’s singular brief to director Mitakshara Kumar, who has trained under Sanjay Leela Bhansali, was to make it an extravagant affair. “I was constantly hovering around to ensure we made it bigger,” he laughs, adding that shooting post the 2020 lockdown was an ordeal. “Our crew strength [pre-lockdown] was 400, and post the lockdown, we were told only 50 junior artistes could be used. [Since 2020], we went to Uzbekistan thrice; the weather was a spoilsport every time. Writing was relatively easier. We brought down a Hollywood writing consultant [Matt Pyken] who joined the director, Bhavani Iyer, myself and the internal teams from Emmay and Hotstar. During the lockdown, we went back to writing, and were able to flesh out the women characters better. These women [influenced] the dynasty by being manipulative, courageous, kind and sacrificial.” The team hired a historian to ensure they are factually accurate, every step of the way. “From the scripts to the costumes, the lyrics to dialogues, everything was sent to Ejaz bhai [Syed Ejaz Hussain, History department, Visva Bharati University] for vetting. This was followed by an intensive legal vetting at the streaming giant’s end.”