India’s Hindi Film Industry, aka Bollywood, is famous for its musical romantic-comedy movies. Netflix knows this very well, and that’s why they have produced an original series starring some of India’s biggest up-and-coming names in this cringey yet addictive rom-com series.
If you have seen Netflix’s mystery thriller drama miniseries The Perfect Couple starring Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber and were wondering who was the shirtless hunk taking a shower, then wonder no more as The Royals gives you Ishaan Khatter in the leading role and mostly shirtless.
Created by Rangita Pritish Nandy and Ishita Pritish Nandy, the Netflix series is set in modern-day India, and it revolves around a financially struggling Royal family who decide to revive their fortunes with the help of an ambitious entrepreneur by turning their palace into a luxury resort.
The Royals is Dumb, Cringey, Mindless, & Extremely Entertaining
The set-up is nothing original, but in my opinion, the Royal family is a lot of fun to watch as they bicker with each other. It has a good lead in Maharaj Aviraaj “Fizzy” Singh (Khatter), who is struggling to hold down the fort after his father’s death.
Each member of the royal family has their own set of issues, and all of them come into play sometime or another. That’s what the creators have done well, as you can both empathize with and laugh at the royal family.
What drags down the series a bit is its lead female character, Sophia Kanmani Shekhar (Bhumi Pednekar), who’s written to be somewhat unlikable but the main issue in the series is that it doesn’t know what it actually is and that’s why it tries to check as many boxes as it can, which holds down the quality of this series a lot.
Overall, The Royals could have been a great comedy series if it hadn’t taken itself so seriously in some moments. What’s great about this series is that it has something of everything, and if you love Indian films’ dance numbers, then you won’t be disappointed with Khatter’s dance moves.