Dino Morea On Backlash Against The Empire: It Isn't History, Just A Lot Of Fiction

Dino Morea was recently seen in Disney Plus Hostart's historical fiction series The Empire. While many praised the show for its production design and the performances, others also called out the makers for 'glorifying' Mughals. However, Dino said the audience should not take it too seriously as it has been fictionalised.

Dino Morea, in The Empire, was seen essaying the role of the antagonist Muhammad Shaybani Khan. The Empire, directed by Mitakshara Kumar, is based on the novel Empire of the Moghul by Alex Rutherford. Talking about the criticism for the show, Dino told Free Press Journal, "If you read the book, you will understand that there is a lot of fiction mixed with history to dramatise the narrative and make it more fun to read."

"Likewise, we have fictionalised our story as well, so viewers remain engaged with the story. Yes, it tells the story of the Mughal era, but we are not glorifying anybody. It's not history; it's just a lot of fiction," he added.

Dino's character was also was compared to Ranveer Singh's character Alauddin Khilji in Padmaavat. He said while he was not influenced by Ranveer's performance he does not mind the comparison.

Dino told Bollywood Bubble, "If you compare me to someone who has done a fantastic job then chalo theek hai (then it's okay). I'm okay with it. Because Ranveer has done a fantastic job as Khilji. I have not been influenced by what he did as Khilji. I have tried to introduce my madness through Shaybani Khan."

The eight-episode long series also features Kunal Kapoor as Babur, Shabana Azmi as Aisan Daulat Begum, Drashti Dhami as Khanzada Begum and Aditya Seal as Humayun.