So strong is the memory of the late Madhubala from Mughal-e-Azam (1960) that it’s almost impossible to think of any other actor as Anarkali. Aditi Rao Hydari thought so too when she was offered the role in Taj: Divided by Blood. The actor reveals that she initially rejected the part. “When this role first came to me, I was like, ‘No chance! Madhubala is Anarkali.’ I said ‘No, thank you’ to the makers,” she recounts.

It was only when director Ron Scalpello and his team convinced Hydari that they weren’t revisiting Mughal-e-Azam, but telling a drastically different story, that the actor changed her mind. The upcoming ZEE5 series — also starring Naseeruddin Shah, Rahul Bose, Sandhya Mridul and Aashim Gulati — traces how Mughal emperor Akbar’s sons turned against each other in their bid to succeed to the throne.