'Razia Sultan' zooms in on women's empowerment

"Razia Sultan", a new historical show on the first woman ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, aims to bring the message of women's empowerment to viewers through her inspirational tale.

Actors Sooraj Thapar and Pankhuri Awasthi were in the capital on Wednesday to promote the show, which will be aired on new Hindi general entertainment channel &TV starting March 2.

The intent is to empower the women of modern society by showcasing the life of Razia Sultan, tracing how from an emperor's daughter, she went on to rule a dynasty.

Pankhuri, who has been a part of shows like "MTV Fanaah" and "Yeh Hai Aashiqui" in the past, will be seen playing the titular role in the show.

Talking about her understanding of the character, Pankhuri told: "Razia is just like any other normal girl. She is fun-loving, but on other hand, she is scared too. Even though her father is the king, she doesn't have any dream to take over his dynasty. But as time will pass, her father will realise that she is best person who he can rule the Sultanate dynasty."

Sooraj, who will essay the role of Razia's father, Iltutmish, said he's lucky to be part of the show.

"In recent times I've mostly played negative characters, but Iltutmish is a protagonist. People loved me as the evil king Dhana Nanda in 'Chandragupta Maurya'. So (I feel) they will love me in this show too," he said.

Apart from Sooraj and Pankhuri, the show will also feature actresses Seema Kapoor and Sambhavna Seth as Shamshad Begum and Shah Turkan respectively.

The channel gave a glimpse into the show at an event here, with Sooraj and Pankhuri - dressed as their respective characters - performed a scene from the show.

The time is ripe for such a show as the country is buzzing with discussions over women's safety, said Rahul Kumar Tewary of Swastik Productions, that's producing the show.

"'Razia Sultan' talks about women empowerment. It talks about the time of a male-dominated society. It shows how a father seeks trust in his daughter, who goes on to rule Delhi.

"The Indian society is facing issues related to women security, so the show is an effort to aware people about the status of women in the society," he said.

The shooting of "Razia Sultan" took place in Gujarat, on the same set where the producers filmed their popular mythological show "Mahabharat".

Asked why the show was filmed in Gujarat when the story of the show deals with the history of Delhi, Tewary said: "The show talks about the 13th century. Delhi and other metro cities have transformed and developed to a big extent.

"So, to showcase that era we needed a huge land and a big amount of actors. We shot 'Mahabharat' there and it was convenient for us that time."