Love brooks no opposition and never calculates the cost. Whether the audience finally take to the serial or not, the producers have not spared any efforts to seduce them. Noorhehan is lavish. LAVISH. Just how lavish? Let's give you an idea: the serial is being shot simultaneously in Hindi and English; 14 historical books were consulted before shooting began; outdoor shoots are taking place at 6 different locations: Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Kashmir; it has a Rs.70 lakhs, 20,000 square foot air-conditioned studio TV set at Film City, Mumbai, designed by T.K.Desai (Mughal e Azam, Tipu Sultan); 150 people are working on the show around the clock, 24 hours a day, seven days a week; music for 18 songs has been originally composed by Talat Aziz -- each musical score has taken 48 hours to record; each episode has taken 18 shifts because the serial has to be shot in two languages; original costumes have been designed by Sunita Malhotra and Tara Desai; Rs.10 lakhs has been spenton screen tests alone and Rs.3 lakhs on one belly dance....

It has got to be love. ``I have always been fascinated by Mughal history,'' explains the long-haired and bearded Mehta, ``And this was the most magnificent 60 years of the Mughal period.'' The serial, scripted by Prof.Mohammed Amin and Pran Kishore with dialogues by Nehad Fasli, begins with the birth of Noorjehan and ends when Shah Jahen takes over. Noorjehan, if you recall your history, virtually ruled for 15 years because her husband, Jehangir was ruled by alcohol. So the producers claim this is a strong woman-oriented serial which should appeal to women in a way that history normally eludes them. ``She was lost to the footnotes of medieval history, till Cinevista rescued her.'' claims Mehta with a flourish, ``but that woman,'' says Mehta admiringly, ``sure had brains.''The serial is not top most about Noorjehan's grey cells, though. It is about her life and her love ``Was it love or was it revenge that made her marry Jehangir after he had her husband murdered?,''asks Mehta, ``That is one of the more fascinating questions Noorjehan will explore.''

Noorjehan is directed by Imtiaz Khan and stars Milind Soman as Jehangir and newcomer, Gauri Pradhan as Noorjehan. Why were these three Cinevista's first choice? ``Well, we wanted a director who had a vision, understood the ethos of those time,'' explains Mehta, ``we wanted an incredibly handsome man who could act -- and let me tell you, Milind can act; and we wanted a fresh face for the title role: it wouldn't have done to have Sridevi playing Noorjehan.''

It took three years to find the face to fit the role. The story goes, that actor, Pankaj Dheer, first saw Pradhan at a party and then told Cinevista she was Noorjehan. Not quite. That was six months later, after Pradhan had undergone acting lessons with Roshan Taneja. ``She is beautiful and intelligent,'' reveals Mehta.

Unusually, Noorjehan has been financed by bank loans. ``Turning films into an industry has helped us get the money,''admits Mehta, ``still we have taken a big chance: this is the costliest production on television.''Mehta has reason to be worried otherwise too. Historically, TV serials based on history have been failures. With the exception of Tipu Sultan, they have not been popular with audiences: The Great Maratha and Akbar the Great were both flops. Also, producers stand to loose much more than they would on an average soap because it costs so much more to produce a historical drama. Perhaps that explains why Cinevista plans to sell the English version of the serial to foreign TV channels.

It's still early days for the producers of such successful serials as Junoon, Hindustani, Saboot; the question now is -- can Noorjehan buck the trend of history on TV?