Nominated at the mid-day and Radio City Hitlist OTT Awards in the Best Supporting Actor (Female): Series category, The Empire actor Shabana Azmi says a fair share of imagination went into filming for the show, which involved VFX. “At FTII, we learned that observation, concentration, and imagination are an actor’s tools. Among the earliest exercises given was, looking into an imaginary well and drawing water from it, and conveying the illusion of reality. It takes a lot of skill to prevent it from looking fake,” says Azmi.

As Esan Daulat Begum, the grandmother of the historical character Babur, Azmi says she bagged the chance to play the kind of authoritative figure that is usually reserved for men. “She is the kingmaker and the master strategist—a role that is largely reserved for men. I was intrigued that Nikkhil [Advani, showrunner] chose a woman filmmaker [Mitakshara Kumar] to make her debut on such a huge canvas, but she stood up to his belief and more. I enjoyed working with Mitakshara. She is meticulous and has a strong sense of aesthetics.”