AKBAR KHAN'S 'TAJ MAHAL' Starring: Zulfikar as Prince Shah Jahan, Sonya Jehan as Mumtaz Mahal. Kabir Bedi, Manisha Koirala, Pooja Batra, Arbaaz Ali, Kim Sharma, Milind Gunaji, Vaquar Sheikh And Arbaaz Khan Director & Producer: Akbar Khan. UK Release in December 2003.

Akbar Khan says of this film "I am setting out to make a film that would bring this glorious passage of history to life, to humanize it, not a docu drama but an experience in living history. I want to put the audience on the lap of the Golden Era of the Peacock Throne, to experience the romance of Emperor Shah Jahan and his Empress Mumtaz Mahal. The romance that eventually turned into an eternal love story as together they become the Taj Mahal."

The Taj Mahal is not just the story of a mausoleum; it is the story of a family. It is not only a romance, it is also a tragedy. The moghuls are an amalgam of fierce battle, awful revenge and sublime aesthetics. They love with passion and hate with equal passion. The scene was set for clashing of arms, charging of horses and whipping off heads, in short for fratricidal violence, as brothers destroyed each other and sons rebelled against fathers in their rivalry for the throne.

The greatest love story of all times was thus splattered with the blood of ambition.

SYNOPSIS

The Taj Mahal is not just the story of a mausoleum; it is the story of a family. The family is the royal family of the great Moguls driven by overpowering passion of love and hate. At the centre of this drama are the primal lovers, Prince Khurram, son of Emperor Jahangir and Arjumand, the niece of Empress Noor Jahan.

Amidst ambition and power, hate, violence, intrigues and conspiracy, the budding romance of the teenager Prince Khurram blossomed as he turned to be the Emperor of Hindustan. And since the Emperor depended on his sons to govern his provinces and for that purpose empowered them with large armies and independent sources of revenue.

The scene was set for clashing of arms, charging of horses and whipping off heads. In short brothers destroyed each other, sons rebelled against father for the rivalry for the throne. The greatest love story of all times was thus splattered with the blood of ambition. Aurangzeb, son of Emperor Shah Jahan, unleashed his longstanding vengeance by executing his eldest brother and imprisoning his father to ascend the throne.

Their love story lasted for nineteen years, when ultimately the delivery of her last child resulted in her death. Deeply struck by this tragedy, Shah Jahan devoted twenty-two years to perpetuate her memory. When it was completed, the Taj Mahal became Mumtaz Mahal for him, and when in the wake of his death his body was interred along side hers, together they became the Taj Mahal.