Rating: 3.5/5
Cast: Mohit Verma, Ishaan Khatter, Bhumi Pednekar, Zeenat Aman, Dino Morea, Sakshi Tanwar, Vihaan Samat
Directors: Priyanka Ghose, Nupur Asthana
A Missed Opportunity: Beauty and Fashion Over Substance
“The Royals,” a Netflix drama directed by Priyanka Ghose and Nupur Asthana, arrives promising grandeur, royal dysfunction, and a whimsical romance. Set in the fictional princely state of Morpur (a clear nod to Rajasthan), the series was meant to be a dazzling display of fashion and flair. Instead, it fails to live up to its potential, caught up in a web of clichés and predictable plotlines, leaving viewers with a product that’s all style and no substance.
A Show Drowning in Fashion and Aesthetics
If opulence is the currency, The Royals is certainly rich. Palatial estates, vibrant wardrobes, and sparkling table settings fill the screen, but beneath this lavish surface, the emotional stakes are sorely lacking. Characters are draped in luxurious fabrics, yet their internal lives remain locked behind layers of overdone gloss. The fashion-forward aesthetic is undeniable, but the substance simply doesn’t match up. It’s as though the show spent more time designing royal outfits than developing a compelling story.
The Plot: A Royal Soap Opera in Modern Times
At the heart of the show is Aviraaj “Fizzy” Singh (Ishaan Khatter), a polo-playing, perpetually shirtless heir to a royal fortune. When he returns home to attend his father’s will reading, he discovers his family legacy in tatters and his inheritance tied up in scandal. This sets the stage for his conflict with his ambitious mother (Sakshi Tanwar), who juggles her royal duties with personal drama. Fizzy’s return to the family fold, however, introduces a plot so stuffed with melodrama that it almost feels like a soap opera in the royal court.
The Underwhelming Romance
Enter Sofia Kanmani Shekhar (Bhumi Pednekar), a self-made CEO who runs a luxury royal experience business aimed at middle-class dreamers. What follows is an underwhelming romance between Fizzy and Sofia. The chemistry between the two is awkward and forced, with the writing failing to make their interactions feel real. Pednekar, a talented actor, is confined to a character that swings between a self-assured businesswoman and a damsel in distress depending on what the plot needs.
Khatter, who does his best to bring depth to Fizzy, seems to have nothing but a few lines of brooding over family drama and beach polo scenes to work with. His interactions with his horse are perhaps the most emotionally charged moments of the series, showcasing more depth than some of his scenes with the other characters.
The Supporting Cast: Lacking Depth
The supporting characters feel like placeholders in a royal soap opera. Fizzy’s siblings, Diggy (Vihaan Samat) and Jinnie (Kavya Trehan), offer some potential but fail to break out of their stereotypical roles. Diggy is the closeted chef with aspirations for reality TV fame, while Jinnie is the unsure bisexual flirt. Sakshi Tanwar’s portrayal of the royal matriarch, Rani Maa, lacks consistency, swinging between moments of steely resolve and complete bewilderment. Zeenat Aman’s return as the drugged-up grand matriarch Bhagyashree Devi feels lackluster, and her Instagram posts have more personality than her role here.
The Show’s Missed Satirical Potential
Although The Royals occasionally attempts sly satire, the moments of wit are few and far between. Characters often speak in jargon-filled lines that sound more like marketing pitches than dialogue. When a character says, “Do ‘Gram the hell out of us,” it’s jarring, a line that feels more fitting in a commercial than in a royal family drama.
A Heavy Focus on Style Over Storytelling
What The Royals gets wrong is the imbalance between style and storytelling. The show looks gorgeous on the surface, but the narrative falls flat. It’s clear that the creators prioritized aesthetics over plot depth, thinking that opulence would carry the show. But like the protagonist himself, the show is visually arresting yet lacking substance. The attempts at modernity—queer representation, women-run businesses, influencer culture—feel more like checklist inclusions rather than meaningful parts of the story.
Final Thoughts: A Show That Misses Its Mark
In the end, The Royals is a visual feast, but a narrative disappointment. The romance is lackluster, the characters underdeveloped, and the plot predictable. There are moments when the show almost hits its stride, particularly in the sibling dynamics, but by then, it’s too late to salvage the experience. Vihaan Samat brings tenderness to his role, and Dino Morea is clearly enjoying his time onscreen, but their performances are often drowned in a sea of pointless montages and uninspired twists.
