Sandhya Mridul talks about her role in the recent show Taj Divided by Blood and sharing screen space with Naseeruddin Shah.
Sandhya Mridul was most recently seen in the historical drama Taj: Divided by Blood. The actress played Empress Jodhabai in the multi-starrer which dealt with the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar. In a chat with DNA, Sandhya talks about what drew her to the project, her character, and her experience of sharing screen with Naseeruddin Shah.
Taj: Divided by Blood is a semi-fictional account of the succession battle between Akbar’s three sons. Sandhya says she was drawn to the ‘realness’ of the script. “Apart from the fact that it’s the story of kings and queens and their heirs, the fact of the matter is Taj is a very human approach to royalty. It’s the story of relationships and very relatable emotions. They have kept it very real. It’s literally a family drama at the royal level,” says the actress.
Sandhya plays Jodhabai, the queen of Akbar and the mother of Salim, the future emperor Jehangir. Talking about how her role is different from the usual royal in a period drama, she says, “What I liked about Jodha is that there is a vulnerability to her, a reality to her. She is a queen but also a mother and often times, the queen is in conflict with the mother. That’s because what’s best for her son is not always what is best for the kingdom. But she is not political and aggressive, just full of love for her son. Her agenda is not ambitious, but she just wants her son to be the king, to get what she feels is the best for him.”
And of course, playing Jodha meant she had a lot of scenes with Naseeruddin Shah, who plays Akbar o the show. “Naseer sahab is a masterclass in acting,” says Sandhya emphatically as we ask her about him. She adds, “Even if he is not teaching you or correctingyou, he is doing it in front of you. And if you are half intelligent and half open as a human being, you will get it. I am a sponge. So if you make me stand in front of Naseeruddin Shah, I will absorb everything.”
The actress reveals that the veteran actor even helped her on the sets while she was goig through a tough time persoally. She recalls, “I was going through a difficult personal experience through this shoot. I had a very deep personal loss and he was extremely caring. He was nice, sweet, and there were days where he even said ‘if she needs to go, let her go, I’ll stay back and work’. Stuff like that helps.”
Taj: Divided by Blood also stars Aditi Rao Hydari and Ashim Gulati among others. The show released on Zee5 on March 3.
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 "Sandhya Mridul and Naseeruddin Shah")
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