Ekta Kapoor, the queen of Indian TV industry, is all set to venture into the historical genre with her upcoming venture Jodha Akbar for Zee TV. The promos of the show have already raised curiosity. Reason? The appearance and mannerisms of Akbar look a tad different. He comes across aggressive and non-chivalrous. Let’s hear what Ekta has to say about it. “The beauty about history is that it is open to perception. I know I am going to be taking a huge step for which I will be ridiculed…but appreciated too. A creative person who is scared of ridicule, won’t grow. Getting to the show, what history does is that it gives us a road map with incidences, experiences, various dates and a broad structure of what happened then. A creative person adds colourful emotions to it.” “Jodha Akbar is a story of a 14-year old boy who was influenced by a lot of people around him. He also had high trust issues. When you achieve success at a very young age, you’re forced to live life on your own; the power and the madness are obviously different. But when love enters your life, things change drastically. So, it’s a story about love in times of hate and also religious and cultural battles that were resolved with love,” she avers. Ekta also goes on to claim that her team has researched on this concept extensively. “We have researched probably more than anybody else. But in history, XYZ things happen at a particular time and the next event takes place after two or three years. Now, that part which is not explained in history is open to perception,” she informs. “I always feel that times can change, years can pass, but human nature stays the same. So, though history gives you the dates and facts, it does not say what that person went through emotionally. Nobody will write about our insecurity or realizations after 1,500 years even if they write about our achievements. This is what we will give to our characters in the show- the human emotions,” Ekta observes. Ekta feels that Rajat Tokas, as the young Akbar fits the bill, as she states, “I wanted a young actor who had a maturity on his face and since Rajat started working very young in his life, there was a combination of him being young but at the same time looking immensely matured.” How does she balance between films and TV? “I have a very competitive team that works effectively. As a creative person, I am just a part of my team. It’s a fact that I am thinly placed with films with TV obligations to fulfill,” she answers. What do you prefer more: films or TV? “TV without ratings is my first love,” she quips. Let’s wait and watch if this Balaji venture manages to create magic yet again!!!