General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Paurashpur

Paurashpur (पौरशपुर) is an Indian Hindi-language period drama web series that premiered on 29 December 2020 on the streaming platforms ALTBalaji and ZEE5. Set in a fictional sixteenth-century kingdom, it follows a tyrannical king whose treatment of women and the third gender provokes a rebellion within his own palace.¹^•²

Key fact	Detail
Original title	पौरशपुर³
First episode	29 December 2020, on ALTBalaji and ZEE5¹
Seasons	Season 1: 7 episodes (2020); Season 2: 5 episodes (28 July 2023); Season 3: 5 episodes (19 July 2024)⁴^•⁵
Directors	Shachindra Vats (Season 1), Kaycee (Kevin Couto) (Season 2)³^•⁴
Principal cast	Annu Kapoor, Shilpa Shinde, Milind Soman, Shaheer Sheikh, Poulomi Das¹
Genre and rating	Erotic period drama; rated A (adults only)³^•⁶
Availability	Unavailable to stream in India as of the most recent checks; last available on Zee5 from December 2020 to April 2021³

Spoilers

Premise and setting

The series is set in Paurashpur, a fictional kingdom in sixteenth-century India that is ruled entirely by men. King Bhadrapratap Singh, played by Annu Kapoor, is described in reviews as a misogynist and sex-addicted ruler who treats women as objects. Women in the kingdom have no rights: they are considered slaves to men, are required to undergo the Sati ritual (Hindu practice of widow immolation on husband's pyre) after a husband's death, and are forced to wear a chastity belt with a lock; those who defy these rules face public execution.²^•⁷

The king's first wife, Queen Meerawati (Shilpa Shinde), arranges new queens to satisfy him, but each bride mysteriously disappears from the palace the day after her wedding. Boris (Milind Soman), a transgender character whose presence makes the king uncomfortable, is connected to the disappearances, and the queen herself begins plotting against the king with his enemies. The season-one finale introduces Shaheer Sheikh's character Veer Singh, who was positioned as a central figure for the following season.²^•⁸

According to the makers, the show addresses patriarchy, gender politics, and power. Shilpa Shinde, who plays Queen Meerawati, said the show touches on serious issues that existed "even in those days" and described it as shot on a grand scale.¹ Milind Soman said he deliberately avoided stereotyped mannerisms in portraying Boris, aiming instead to show the character's human side.¹

Seasons

Season 1 consists of seven episodes, all released on 29 December 2020, with titles including "Paurashpur: Kingdom of Patriarchy" and the finale "Vidroh: The Uprising".⁴ Episodes run roughly 20 to 26 minutes.³^•¹²

Season 2, directed by Kaycee, premiered on 28 July 2023 with five episodes: "Thrones and Deceit", "Love's Battle", "Secrets and Shadows", "The Prophecy Unveiled", and "The Dance of Power".⁴ Its main cast included Aaryan Harnot, Shilpa Shinde, and Annu Kapoor.¹³

Season 3 followed on 19 July 2024 with five episodes, continuing the power struggle inside the palace around the character Snehlata and ending with "Together or Apart", described as the final battle over the fate of Paurashpur.⁵

Production

ALTBalaji announced Paurashpur in October 2020 as one of its largest web shows, describing it as a fictional period drama envisioned on the lines of Game of Thrones, with a set built on the outskirts of Mumbai and multiple seasons planned.⁹ The series was produced by Sachin Mohite under the banner of Jaasvand Entertainment and directed by Shachindra Vats.¹⁰ The writers were Baljeet Singh Chaddha, Rajesh Tripathi, and Chital Rajesh Tripathi, with Vats also editing the seven episodes.⁶

The production drew established names for its craft departments: the sets were designed by Nitin Chandrakant Desai and the costumes by Leena Daru.⁶ The release, originally scheduled for 15 December 2020, was postponed for reasons that were not stated, and the series premiered on 29 December 2020.¹¹

Reception

Season 1 opened to poor reviews. The Times of India gave it 2.0 out of 5, calling it "an underwhelming erotic period drama" and criticizing loose plot threads and clichéd erotic scenes, while singling out Milind Soman's performance as the show's saving grace.² Navbharat Times rated it 1.5 out of 5, judging the concept good but poorly executed, and noting that Shaheer Sheikh appears in only two scenes of the season.⁷ ABP Live, also at 1.5 out of 5, wrote that the series focuses on titillating scenes at the expense of a coherent story.¹⁴ A LatestLY review rated it 1.0 out of 5, criticizing the editing, writing, and direction, though it found Milind Soman's Boris the one notable performance.¹⁵

Reviewers consistently noted the gap between the production's scale and its writing. The Scroll review observed that the plot's central mystery, the fate of the king's vanished wives, is resolved without much suspense, and that lovemaking scenes are inserted throughout.⁶ The Indian Express's live coverage of the release was headlined around the show opening to poor reviews.¹

Availability

Paurashpur streamed on Zee5 from December 2020 until April 2021, after which it left that platform; as of the most recent availability check it could not be streamed in India, though Season 2 has been offered on Airtel Xstream Play through ShemarooMe.³^•¹³

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Indian and South Asian web series

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

Notice something wrong?