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‘The Empire’ web series review: Prune

Are you yet to catch up with the latest period drama series The Empire on Disney+ Hotstar and wondering whether it is worth a watch? Prune has reviewed the series just for you! 

The Empire is a historical period drama series with episodes ranging from 35 to 50 minutes long. It was launched on the video streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar on 27 August 2021. It is created by Nikkhil Advani and directed by Mitakshara Kumar, known for his contribution to Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s blockbuster films Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat. 

This 8-episode Hindi drama series is based on the novel series Empire of the Moghul by Alex Rutherford. And the storyline revolves around the life of the first Mughal emperor named Babur who is portrayed by actor Kunal Kapoor. He plays the role of Babur with a soft-hearted but fierce persona. The first season of the series pulls us into the life of Babur, and the rise and fall of the Mughal dynasty. After the death of his father king Umar Sheikh, Babur begins to rule as a king from the age of 14. He then tries to pave his way through the several challenges and betrayals in his court. 

You will find it interesting if you are into history. However, the first season will leave you with mixed feelings about the series. It was termed as the Indian version of Game of Thrones when the trailer came out, but it is nowhere close to the famous American fantasy series. But it does come across as refreshing new content that Indian OTT platforms can explore and grow on further. 

Visually speaking, the series does a great job. The shooting sets, visuals, performances, and costumes have been given great attention to detail that adds to the experience of watching it. But VFX and CGI go wrong in most scenes that needed them the most like the ones with combat. Ironically this is a period drama series that needed good VFX, storytelling, and prosthetics for most of its scenes, but these significant aspects end up being the weak point of the series to our disappointment. And some episodes are stretched out too long with the use of music and dance sequences in them.

Kunal Kapoor’s performance as Babur is impressive, and he gets in the skin of the Mughal emperor with ease. He portrays him as a person who is both gentle and powerful at the same time. The character of Shaibani Khan is portrayed by Dino Morea, the villain of the series who adds the right amount of conflict in the storyline. His arrogant character will remind you of Alauddin Khilji from the film Padmaavat. Another highlight performance is the one of Shabana Azmi. She effortlessly takes a scene to another level with just the subtle nuances of her character of Esan Dawlat. 

If you manage to get past the first three episodes, you might find the series slightly engaging. But it does fail to get you in the groove initially. The episodes could have had more depth, but end up being uninteresting because of the way scenes are cut off abruptly. It is one of many reasons it is difficult to connect with the characters or feel gripped by the storyline. Another reason one can fail to connect with the characters is they don’t age as time passes in the plot. They look more or less the same, so it is difficult to ascertain the period of history they are living. 

If you have The Empire on your watch list and wish to see historical accuracy in it, you might not be too thrilled with the way things shape up in the series. But it is entertaining to see for sure if nothing else. 

Creator - Nikkhil Advani 

Director - Mitakshara Kumar

Cast – Kunal Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Aditya Seal, Dino Morea, Rahul Dev, Sahher Bambba, Kallirroi Tziafeta