Many films are born as adaptation of books. In contrast, Gustaakh Ishq was born because a book could not be adapted. First-time producer Manish Malhotra had initially approached Vibhu Puri to adapt a 400-page book. When the director said the adaptation would take far too long, Malhotra asked him one question: ‘Do you have something that you want to make?’ Enter Gustaakh Ishq, starring Naseeruddin Shah, Vijay Varma, and Fatima Sana Shaikh.

Puri recalls, “I told Manish this story set in old Delhi and Punjab. As soon as he heard it, Manish said he wanted to make it.”

For the director, reuniting with the veteran actor after Taj: Divided By Blood was a dream come true. But the dream was on the verge of not materializing. “Initially, I thought he would be khadoos. But Naseer saab was so nice to me during Taj that I fell in love with him. He agreed to star in this film, but then we had some date issues. So, Manish and I went to his house and I said, ‘If you don’t want to do it, tell me who I should work with.’ Naseer said that I was blackmailing him, to which I said, ‘Yes, I will. I have a right to do that to you’,” he grins.

Romances have dominated the box office in 2025. As he brings his love story, Puri believes the audience has had enough of action offerings. “Between 1987 and 1989, films like Aag Hi Aag [1987] and Aag Ka Gola [1989] were being made. Then suddenly, there was Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak [1988], followed by Maine Pyar Kiya [1989] and Aashiqui [1990]. It changed the entire decade. After COVID too, everyone thought people will only watch event films. But in the end, a person needs happiness, love, and affection.”

Taj: Divided by Blood, which stars Naseeruddin Shah, Aditi Rao Hydari and Ashim Gulati, opened to mixed reviews in March. While the team had initially planned to drop the period drama’s second season by the year-end, it looks like the Mughal dynasty will be back on screen sooner than one thought. The team has advanced the premiere of Taj: Reign of Revenge to May 12.

The first edition of the ZEE5 series, which is a fictional take on historical events, ended with Gulati’s Salim promising to avenge Anarkali’s murder by his brother, Daniyal. A source says, “The first season ends with Salim vowing that he’d find Anarkali’s body and create a tomb in her honour. His desire for revenge will take a deadlier turn in the upcoming instalment.”

Asked what made him advance the release,  producer Abhimanyu Singh says, “It took us five years to create Taj. However, the response has made each moment of this journey worth it. Now due to the audience’s demand, we are bringing the second season sooner than planned.”

One can see why Sandhya Mridul would give her nod to Taj: Divided by Blood. The actor, who plays Jodha bai in the ZEE5 period drama, has only chosen projects that have resonated with her, in her 29-year career. “In television, I did interesting work like Swabhimaan, Banegi Apni Baat, and Koshish Ek Asha. But after that, everything became about saas-bahu. So, I took a two-year sabbatical,” she recounts.

Mridul, who has since gone on to work in several movies, is relieved that the OTT boom has brought a new language to Indian entertainment. “Today, we have OTT, where I can get [projects] that give a scope for the versatility I always aimed for. I recently wrapped up an Applause show that will drop online in one or two months.”

With the influx of digital entertainment, Mridul notes that the industry has moved away from typical hero-heroine stories. She recalls an incident, where she was offered the part of a leading lady, but was deemed ‘arrogant’ for asking questions about her role. “When I asked what my role was about, I was told, ‘What do you have to do with the role? There are six songs. You have to romance the hero.’ But I insisted on knowing what I was playing. So they told my secretary, ‘Why is she asking this question?’ I was considered arrogant, when I wasn’t. I was clear about the parts I wanted to do.”

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.

Courtesan Anarkali became a disruptor as she fell in love with one of Akbar’s sons, Salim. “Ron and [his team underlined] that they were not remaking the love story. In many ways, they were making a family drama. Also, the way they saw Anarkali was different,” says Hydari, noting that Taj paints a more intimate portrait of the courtesan.

“She doesn’t know she is going to be iconic many centuries later. At the time, she was just a woman held captive, wanting freedom. She fell in love with the prince, and that was her biggest boon as well as her biggest downfall. We look at her as a tragic heroine, but Anarkali was a fearless and spirited woman who stood by her love despite the punishment.”

Hydari’s filmography is dotted with period dramas. While she previously featured in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat (2018), she will soon be seen in his web series, Heeramandi, and Vikramaditya Motwane’s Jubilee that is set in ’60s Bollywood. What is it about her that makes filmmakers associate her with period offerings? “I don’t know,” she smiles.

“I do love epic romances and period [settings]. I feel happy that filmmakers see me [in that light], and people accept me in these roles. There are certain directors I have longed to work with, whether it’s Mani [Ratnam] sir, or Sanjay sir, or most recently Vikram sir. When such dreams come true, I count them as blessings.”