The Royals, a Netflix series that brings together a dooming royal family of Rajasthan and a business CEO, together in a crazy, fun ride for a deal that will profit both but ends up being neither’s. The series that is filled with several senior actors like Sakshi Tanwar, Zeenat Aman, Dino Morea, Milind Soman and Chunky Pandey also has fresh young talents like Ishaan Khatter, Vihaan Samat, Bhumi Pednekar, Kavya Trehan, Yashaswini Dayama, Nora Fatehi and debutants Lisa Mishra and Sumukhi Suresh. The eight-episode series is all about some major relationship clashes, shirtless Ishaan, Sakshi’s Maya Sarabhai accent, Jaipur fortress and regal fashion. Oh Yes! There is some serious acting downfall by Bhumi too.
Story
The series begins with Sophia Kanmani Shekhar, played by Bhumi Pednekar, gearing up for the biggest pitch of her life while having a morning run at a beach. During this, she is stopped by a staff member, who very politely tells her to run backwards as a photoshoot is being held in the middle of the beach. However, Sophia being Sophia, breaks the barricade and continues to run through the whole set-up. Here the viewers are introduced to the VIP, Ishaan Khatter as Maharaj of Morpur, Aviraj Singh. Later, we again get to see an obnoxious Sophia asking the VIP people in a restaurant cum bar to speak slowly as she is on a call that obviously could have been anywhere outside. However, this makes Aviraj notice her and later, in a rather swift manner, they move to the room for a fun night that is interrupted by phone calls. And here comes the most non-genuine part in the series, the fight which had to be the base of this ‘enemy turn into lovers’ plot, seems out of place, dragged and forced.
Anyhow, due to a deal, Sophia Kanmani Shekhar, along with her team, reaches the palace of Morpur only to realise that not Digvijay Singh (Vihaan Samat) but her abandoned date is the real king of the palace that she badly wants to set up her business in. After almost losing the deal and having a fling, the two somehow come on the same page to keep the deal going, as the royals needed money and Sophia and team needed to make this work to survive. Despite coming on the same page, obviously, there are more clashes, relationship fallouts, fulfilment and breaking of dreams that only take you to the end that turns out to be a dead end.
Writing and direction
While The Royals has been written by Neha Sharma, Vishnu Sinha, Annukampa Harsh, Ishita Pritish Nandy and Rangita Pritish Nandy, it is directed by Priyanka Ghose and Nupur Asthana. Both teams have done a fine job, but have flaws that were too big to be covered. Ishaan’s character, who could have had an arc of Anthony Bridgerton only looked confused and too easily flipped for things he just said. The writing and direction lacked the depth they could have provided to the lead character. On the other hand, while they gave too much importance to the over reactions, they could have given more screen space to Vihaan Samat’s character’s dreams and zeal. Him suddenly moving on from not being the maharaja to a chef was too abrupt to be digested well. On the other hand, their sister Divyaranjini Singh, played by Kavya Trehan’s sudden switch too from being straight to bisexual was also sudden and was backed by zero screen space.
On the other hand, Digvijay Singh’s turn and off-turn from Nora Fatehi’s character Ayesha Dhondi was forced. At that point, Ishaan’s character just seemed like a man just making excuses to sleep with different women. And only when you feel like he’s sticking to something, he again flips, dumps everything on Sophia and runs away. However, he does make up for it with a heartfelt confession. The makers could have used Zeenat Aman as Maji in a better way. However, they have fully utilised Sakshi Tanwar. Now that we have mentioned Bridgerton, Sakshi and Ishaan can remind you of Anthony and Violet. Moreover, the cinematographer should be applauded. The camera angles and drone shots have really captured royalty. Dialogue writers also have their moments of high. Special mention to Abu Jani Khosla for the regal outfits. The production team has done a fab job in dressing everyone except Bhumi. Her wardrobe could have been better, at the end of the day, she was a CEO and the lead.
Acting
A series that is eight episodes long almost gives everyone a fair share of time to show their acting calibre. But by the end, some seem to just disappoint and some remain at the top of their game. First things first, The Royals has really brought out the royalty of Ishaan Khatter. The actor is seamless in every frame. His dialogue delivery, dance moves and horse-riding skills, sass, sarcasm and romance quotient, everything is on point. Keeping him shirtless in most scenes was also a good decision. Another actor who will make you wait for her next scene is Sakshi Tanwar. She has carried her character really well, however, it may take the second episode to get used to her Maya Sarabhai way of talking. Her character arc has a fall, but is uplifted well in the coronation sequence. If only Kavya Trehan and Vihaan Samat had more screen space! Their side stories were interesting and fun. Supporting actors who have done a fab job and should be credited are comedian Sumukhi Suresh, diva Zeenat Aman and Udit Arora.
Bhumi Pednekar is a whole new level of disappointment in The Royals. Her character firstly could not justify any move, but the overreaction that Bhumi has in every scene can make you pick your hair. While everyone is dwelling well in frames, her overdoing in each one of them is too much for an intake. It’s so hard to believe that the actor who was so flawless in Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Sonchiriya and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan is just not understanding the emotional range of a series. Moreover, her stylist has wronged her big time in The Royals. Be it her dance moves or dialogue delivery, nothing is impressive in the series.
Verdict
The Royals has its flaws, but the series is somewhat interesting. The Netflix series will occasionally keep you hooked and most episode ends on a high that will make you intrigued. The royal lifestyle is captured well in the series but that all in mostly goes in vain. Each character have their USPs. The music in the series is fine and the song Tu Hai Wahi is the only one that you’ll remember. When the makers said that The Royals is the Indian version of Bridgerton, they weren’t entirely wrong. Obviously, it is not that grand but has its own moments, which are a few. Overall, being a okayish one time watch, The Royals deserves 2.5 out of 5 stars.