Mughal emperor Akbar would have been quite impressed if he was alive because this historical character currently features in three TV soaps. Rajat Tokas plays Akbar in Zee’s Jodha Akbar, which portrays the emperor as a benevolent ruler and revolves around his love story with his Hindu queen Jodhabai. Meanwhile in Sony’s Maharana Pratap, Krip Suri, arguably the hottest Akbar on-screen, is the show’s main villain. In this serial we get to see an ambitious and power hungry king who is obsessed with defeating another historical hero, Maharana Pratap.
And then there is the comedy titled Har Mushkil ka Hal-Akbar Birbal aired on Big Magic that focuses on the legendary friendship between Akbar and Birbal. Actor Kiku Sharda plays the emperor. The interesting part is that all three shows are very different. But what is with the Akbar obsession? Aren’t producers, directors and actors worried about an overkill?
One of the on-screen Akbars, Krip Suri isn’t bothered. He says it feels great to play such an in-demand character. “Stars like Prithvi Raj Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan too have played this role.” And director Santram Verma, who directed Jodha Akbar initially, adds, “The three shows are showcasing Akbar’s life in three different directions. Various shades of the emperor are being showcased. Television shows are all about the number game and the fact that these shows are getting the eyeballs means they are being appreciated by the audience.”
Paritosh Painter, Akbar-Birbal’s scriptwriter is also not worried. He say his show is very different from the other two. “The brief given to me was that we need to portray our characters very close to reality. The producers wanted to showcase the friendship between the protagonists as well as Birbal’s famous wit. Each episode is different and most of the episodes have some moral lessons.”
Moving on to the looks department, Krip Suri is considered to be the small-screen’s hottest emperor, while Rajat Tokas the most popular. “I am glad that I am getting a good response. It’s a great feeling to live up to audiences’ expectations,” says Suri. Both Rajat and Krip are super-toned and flaunt great bodies on the show. But the same can’t be said about Kiku Sharda, and the serial’s producer Meenakshi Sagar is not worried. “The real Akbar looked like how my Akbar looks, he never had a six pack.” Meenakshi also stresses that they are portraying Akbar in a respectful manner in the show.
While in Jodha Akbar, Akbar is shown as a great king, it is not the case in Maharana Pratap. But Krip Suri argues that this is not true. “Akbar is a positive man, he did great things for India, it’s just that he and Maharana Pratap were enemies and this facet is shown in the show.” To be fair, even in Jodha Akbar, though he hardly has screen-time, Maharana Pratap is portrayed as a troublemaker. Just like how both the shows acknowledge the enmity, will the famous Jodha-Akbar love story be seen on the Sony show? “Well, I have no idea about this, but I feel if Akbar is there, Jodha’s existence is a must,” says Suri.
