We don't have the budget: 'The Empire' director addresses 'Game of Thrones' comparison

Mitakshara Kumar highlights differences between 'The Empire' and 'GoT' in budget and genre

Ever since the trailer drop of the historical drama series The Empire, based on the reign of Mughal emperor Babur, comparisons with the fantasy series Game of Thrones has been consistent. With the often being addressed as the “Indian Game of Thrones”, the director of the Indian series, Mitakshara Kumar, has reacted to the constant comparisons with both GoT as well as the work of Sanjay Leela Bhansali (due to the extravagant set and historical Padmaavat-esque storyline).

Speaking to Filmfare, Kumar shared that the comparisons to GoT fall through because of the fundamental difference in budget and genre, with the massively popular English show falling in the category of fantasy. "They have dragons and zombies, how can people compare? You want to compare our show to Game of Thrones? Give us the budget of Game of Thrones. That show is made on a huge scale. I think our entire series could be made in the budget they use for just one to two episodes. If despite having a fraction of the budget, we are still being compared to Game of Thrones, I think somewhere we have done something right.”

Actor Kunal Kapoor, who stars in the series as the Mughal emperor, also addressed the comparisons in a recent interview with Bollywood Bubble, deeming them “tragic”. The actor commented, “I think these are unnecessary comparisons. Comparisons will be made and it is tragic that it is Game of Thrones because it is a fantastic show. Whenever you do a period drama like that it will be compared to something. Some will say it is like Padmaavat, Bajirao or Game of Thrones, but it is a different story, it’s a different world, different characters different people. If people are comparing the scale (to GoT) then great, it’s wonderful, but I don’t think there is any other commonality between that show and this show.”

On the political sensitivity of the issue, given the anti-Mughal sentiment in India, series creator Nikkhil Advani asserted in an interview that he is only following what is in the source material. He stressed, "I don't think I am retelling any story, I am just telling the story that is there in the source material. There will be contrasting views, interpretations, people might say, 'This other book says this.' We are not claiming that we have been factual, we are claiming that we are following the book. The book, for all intentions and purposes, is historical fiction."

The Empire contains eight episodes that are based on Alex Rutherford’s Empire of the Moghul: Raiders from the North. “The king of Ferghana dies in an accident and a young prince is now tasked with taking over the throne. It’s a time of great distress due to imminent danger from an evil warlord. An assassination attempt on the king that further deepens the worries about the vulnerability of Ferghana. The young king must now take responsibility for an entire kingdom,” reads the official synopsis of the series.

Through this series, Kapoor has made his digital debut while Kumar made her directorial debut. Kumar has also co-written this historical series with Bhavani Iyer. The series also stars Shabana Azmi, Dino Morea, Aditiya Seal, Rahul Dev, and Sahher Bambba