Kunal Kapoor, Shabana Azmi's The Empire: All You Need To Know About This Series

The Empire Cast and Release Date: The Empire season 1 is creating a strong buzz for its ensemble cast that includes Shabana Azmi, Kunal Kapoor, Dino Morea, Drashti Dhami and Rahul Dev. The trailer of the magnum opus was released earlier this month and from the scenes, we got to see glimpses of the characters in the upcoming period epic drama.

Based on the book Empire of the Moghul: Raiders from the North by Alex Rutherford, Mughal-era series will have a direct OTT release this week. The eight-episode show will focus on the rise and fall of the Mughal empire through generations - from Babur to Aurangzeb - "from the valley of Ferghana to Samarkand and beyond". Billed as "India's biggest ever TV show" on streaming, The Empire will be the large-scale drama hardly seen in the digital space. The show is the brainchild of National Award-winning filmmaker Nikkhil Advani and is directed by Mitakshara Kumar, who has worked as an associate director on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s hits Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat.

The Empire cast

Rang De Basanti's Kunal Kapoor and veteran actor Shabana Azmi will play the lead in this season of the series. While Kapoor will play the character of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, Azmi plays the kingmaker and Babur's grandmother Aisan Daulat Begum. It also stars television star Drashti Dhami, who plays Babur's elder sister Khanzada Begum, Dino Morea, newcomer Sahher Bambba (Humayun's mother), Aditya Seal (Humayun) and Rahul Dev (as Wazir Khan, Babur's mentor) among many others. More on the show here.

Talking about his character Babur, Kapoor said that the series will focus on Babur and the Mughals, and who they were, where they came from and how they came into India.

The Empire release date

Kapoor makes his streaming debut with the show and all the episodes of The Empire season 1 will release on Friday (August 27).

Where to watch The Empire

The Empire will also be available on Disney+Hotstar in the US, the UK, Canada, and Singapore.

Watch The Empire trailer here:

Feature Image Credit: Disney+Hotstar