Naseeruddin Shah: You’d be surprised how many blockheads still insist Taj: Divided By Blood glorifies the Mughals | Hindi Movie News

Naseeruddin Shah speaks about the second season of Taj: Divided By Blood, which commenced streaming on June 2. He avoids questions on politics and religion, and says he doesn’t want to comment on controversial films as he has not seen them.
The second season of Taj: Divided By Blood is upon us. What made you select this series, and so far are you happy with the feedback you’ve received?
Once I am done with a job I’m done with it. I don’t look back and I am not at all bothered whether it’s liked or not, for me doing the job to my satisfaction is all that matters.
But the series does no justice to your talent. Evidently Taj is pretty successful even though you hated it! So I am happy for the producers and the young actors in it. I listen carefully to criticism though because it’s offered by those who care.

What was your trigger for taking it on? I accepted it because, sure, it paid well and I wasn’t required to be a poor man’s Prithviraj Kapoor (from K Asif’s Mughal-E-Azam). The character as written, had a dark side and idiosyncrasies, fallibility and regret for his earlier bloodthirst.
The series shows the Mughals as bloodthirsty, hotblooded and extremely libidinous. What would you say about this? Would you agree that the series does not project the Mughal dynasty in the most flattering light?
You’d be surprised how many blockheads still insist it glorifies the Mughals! They are probably watching the series waiting for a chance to start sharpening their knives and they are not getting one. Sure, the Mughals are shown as hotblooded and libidinous and highly indulgent in every way. But which king of that time or earlier was not?
You have done a few OTT projects by now. How different is it shooting for a series as compared to a feature film? And does the digital platform pay you better, considering a majority of your films in the past were made on shoestring budgets?

It’s no different, except I miss the days of celluloid where when a take was ready everyone was on their toes, there was an air of concentration prevalent that you don’t find now. Nope, the pay is no better.
As a thinking, rational Indian Muslim, would you say that those days when Yusuf Khan had to conceal his religious identity and call himself Dilip Kumar, are back in our country?
It’s even worse than those days. The country’s Muslim population has never felt more insecure. Would you agree with that?
I’m not going to answer that question because my answer will be the headline and I can do without the aggravation.