The Empire Web Series Review: Kunal Kapoor's Period Drama Begins Strong But Rushes For A Quick End
The Empire presents too many time gaps for the audience to care about the new characters, and yet with good actors and a promising script, the show is a good start for much-needed fictional period dramas based on facts.
Star
Cast:
Kunal
Kapoor,
Dino
Morea,
Shabana
Azmi,
Drashti
Dhami
Director:
Nikkhil
Advani
Available
On:
Disney
Plus
Hotstar
VIP
Duration:
50
Minutes/
8
Episodes
Language:
Hindi
Story:
The
Empire
follows
Emperor
Babur's
coronation
in
Farghana
to
his
quest
for
Hindustan
that
led
to
the
foundation
for
300
years
of
empire
in
India.
Review:
The
show
based
on
the
book
'Empire
of
the
Moghul'
by
Alex
Rutherford
begins
with
Babur's
childhood,
the
loss
of
his
father,
and
his
coronation
as
King.
However,
the
story
does
not
only
belong
only
to
Babur
but
also
his
sister
Khanzada
Begum.
It
follows
the
brother-sister
duo
as
they
are
separated
due
to
the
greed
for
the
throne
and
find
each
other
back
through
war
and
hardships.
The
story
begins
in
Farghana
where
young
prince
Babur,
son
of
Umar
Sheikh
Mirza
was
brought
up
with
love
for
poems
and
the
promise
of
a
peaceful
Hindustan.
After
the
death
of
his
father
in
an
unfortunate
accident,
he
is
made
the
king
at
the
young
age
of
14
and
has
to
face
an
undefeatable
foe
Muhammad
Shaybani
(Dino
Morea).
After
being
betrayed
by
his
own
people,
Babur
leaves
Farghana
to
Shaybani
for
the
sake
of
his
family
and
single-handedly
manages
to
capture
Samarkand.
A
few
years
later,
Shaybani
sets
his
eyes
on
Samarkand
once
again
forcing
Babar
(Kunal
Kapoor)
to
chose
between
war
and
peace.
This
time
he
has
to
lose
more
than
just
the
throne
on
the
path
to
peace.
After
losing
his
beloved
sister
Khanzada
(Drashti
Dhami)
as
a
prisoner
to
Shaybani,
Babur
loses
his
dedication
for
peace
and
chooses
the
life
of
a
soldier
forever
on
the
battlefield
to
win
back
the
throne
and
the
safety
of
his
sister.
With
his
grandmother
(Shabana
Azmi)
Aisan
Daulat
Begum's
support
and
sister's
love
from
behind
enemy
lines,
Babur
manages
to
win
back
Samarkand.
The
first
four
episodes
of
the
show
focus
on
four
main
characters
-
Babur,
his
sister
Khanzada,
his
grandmother
and
the
antagonist
Dino
Morea.
However,
after
the
first
victory,
the
show
speeds
through
every
war,
every
detail
of
historic
importance
leaving
the
character
only
to
narrative
moments
in
their
lives.
The
screenplay
written
by
Bhavani
Iyer
and
Mitakshara
Kumar
is
mainly
restricted
to
certain
places
and
characters
instead
of
sharing
the
full
story.
The
show
begins
with
a
promise
of
Game
of
Thrones
but
is
quickly
brought
down
to
the
feel
of
a
two-hour
film
just
noting
highlights
of
the
era.
The
audience
is
hardly
given
any
time
to
form
a
connection
with
most
of
the
characters,
who
lead
the
show
in
the
second
half.
While
some
of
them
are
quickly
dismissed,
others
raise
the
stakes
high
but
it
leaves
the
audience
with
little
to
nothing.
On
the
other
hand,
the
background
score
and
costumes
are
mesmerizing
especially
because
of
the
evolution
it
shows
from
Turkish
influence
to
the
Indian
colours
and
patterns.
But
it
is
not
enough
to
keep
the
audience
hooked
due
to
the
show's
subpar
CGI
and
cheap
prosthetics
not
only
during
the
war
scenes
but
with
big
palaces
and
towns,
mostly
leaving
the
scenes
feeling
hollow.
The
makers
have
paid
most
attention
to
Babur's
character,
despite
giving
Khanzada
many
pivotal
moments
the
second
half
of
the
show
steals
her
thunder,
reducing
her
to
a
mere
lady
of
the
court,
who
has
wise
advice
for
the
king.
Kunal
Kapoor
as
Babur
is
exceptional
even
when
the
dialogues
don't
catch
up
to
his
presence.
Drashti
Dhami
starts
strong
but
mellows
down
with
the
second
half
which
is
easier
to
watch.
However,
she
does
bring
forth
a
strong
female
character
despite
the
script's
little
assistance.
Dino
Morea
has
one
of
the
smallest
parts
in
the
show
but
his
presence
is
dearly
missed
in
the
second
half.
Aditya
Seal
as
Prince
Humayun
seems
to
fit
right
in
and
is
the
character
I
am
looking
forward
to
seeing
in
season
two.
Overall,
The
Empire
presents
too
many
time
gaps
for
the
audience
to
care
about
the
new
characters,
and
yet
with
good
actors
and
a
promising
script,
the
show
is
a
good
start
for
much-needed
fictional
period
dramas
based
on
facts.