Badshah Begum (TV series)

Badshah Begum is a 2022 Pakistani television historical drama series produced by Rafay Rashdi and Momina Duraid under the banners of Rafay Rashdi Productions and MD Productions, written by Saji Gul and directed by Khizer Idrees.It features Zara Noor Abbas, Farhan Saeed, Hamza Sohail, Ali Rehman Khan, Yasir Hussain, Shahzad Nawaz, Komal Meer and Saman Ansari in prominent roles.The story revolves around politics, power lust and rivalry among siblings to get the throne.The series aired on Hum TV from 1 March 2022 to 18 October 2022.

Plot
The drama is set in the fictional village of Peeraan Pur (Interior Larkana, Sindh) which tells the real concept of Gaddi and Politics. When undesired circumstances force his city-born and raised children Jahan Ara, Roshan and Shahmir to their hometown, they find themselves tangled in powerplay and politics that they never wished to be a part of. What follows is an epic tale of dynastic politics, sibling rivalry and anarchy.

Badshah Begum is based on true historical incidents which took place during the 16th and 17th centuries. The characters of Jahan Ara and Roshan Ara are based on the historical figures which lived during the Mughal Empire. They were daughters of the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, Jahanara Begum and Roshanara Begum. Jahanara was the most honorable Badshah Begum of that time who established herself in the Agra Fort. The drama highlights incidents that occurred during the rule of Jahanara Begum.

Episodes
The series premiered its first episode on 1 March 2022 on Hum TV and concluded on 18 October 2022 with 31 episodes (Each episode has 34-39 minutes in length). Below is the listing of released date of each episode :

Soundtrack
The official soundtrack of the series is performed by Ali Pervez Mehdi on the lyrics of Saji Gul and Music Composition by Suhaib Rashdi. The Original Sound Track of the series widely praised by the audience.People loves the OST and the overall feel.

Reception
Minutes before its launch, the serial trended at number 1 on twitter along with Zara Noor Abbas, Farhan Saeed and Yasir Hussain as well. The first episode achieved decent ratings of 5.8 TRP and mixed response from audience and social media users. However, while reviewing first episode, critics lauded the direction and performances of the cast members. After airing 6 episodes, Youline Magazine praised the performances of almost all the actors but criticised the, writing, executional lapses and slow pace. The story was however praised stating, "On paper, the story certainly has good bones".

Development and casting
After making his big screen debut as producer and director, Rafay Rashdi started working on his next project in late 2017 which was written by Saji Gul. Saba Qamar was selected to play the main role. It was then decided to release as a web-series with other actors until early 2019 including Faysal Quraishi, Imran Ashraf, Mohsin Abbas Haider and Gohar Rasheed. Qamar was then replaced by Iman Ali after which the project was shelved due to some unknown reasons. In late 2021, the work on the project restarted with Farhan Saeed revealed to be a part of the project and it was changed to a television series under the banner of MD Productions of Momina Duraid and Rafay Rashdi Production. Zara Noor Abbas was chosen to play the main role, earlier offered to Ali. In early 2022, it was also announced that Yasir Hussain and Ali Rehman Khan had also joined the cast with other cast members of Saman Ansari, Shahzad Nawaz, Hamza Sohail, Komal Meer, Hiba Aziz and Abul Hassan.

Filming and location
The principal photography began in Larkana in October 2021 with a spell of 90 days on the ancestral Haveli of the producer, Rashdi. After that, the filming also took place in Karachi.

Release and promotion
The first teaser was released on 2 February 2022 while the original soundtrack was released on 24 February 2022.

The series premiered on 1 March 2022, Tuesdays with a timeslot of 08:00pm by succeeding Ibn-e-Hawwa, while Ibn-e-Hawwa moved to Saturdays, as Qissa Meherbano Ka ended.