‘The Royals’ series review: Ishaan Khatter and Bhumi Pednekar fail to hold court in this predictable affair

A still from ‘The Royals’
| Photo Credit: Netflix

The eight-episode-long series phenomenon appears to have the current OTT space in a chokehold. The nearly eight-hour span allows for the narrative freedom that is otherwise perceived as restricted in traditional film format, but also saves the trouble of a creative commitment that comes with a full-fledged show. It is essentially akin to a first draft of a film script adapted with no cuts. Netflix’s latest release — The Royals, ends up embodying this phenomenon a little too well.

Set within the crumbling confines of the Motibagh palace in Rajasthan, The Royals follows the fictional Morpur royal family as they seek to overturn their debt-ridden existence following the death of the former King. The family is approached by Sophia (Bhumi Pednekar), a hospitality CEO interested in making the Motibagh palace a part of her ‘Royal B&B’ venture. However, her ambitious plans begin to seem unlikely when she comes face-to-face with the current ‘Maharaja’ Aviraaj (Ishaan Khatter), with whom her previous encounter ended in a shouting match.

Created by Rangita Pritish Nandy and Ishita Pritish Nandy, The Royals is a show brought down by its script’s narrative decadence. In eight episodes, the show follows not only the will-they, won’t-they romance between Sophia and Aviraaj, but also shifts focus to poorly-hidden family secrets, and business tussles with a hard-to-root-for underdog. When the script is not busy chasing a lackluster relationship, it is quickly giving a rundown of the double lives these royals must lead. There are queer royals, royals having affairs, and royals who would rather be a chef. Though just portraying hollow stereotypes, this supporting cast emerges to be the minor redeeming factor in a script that otherwise overly relies on less than impressive performances by Bhumi and Ishaan. Sakshi Tanwar as the widowed Queen Mother and Vihaan Samat as the dethroned Prince end up bringing more to the table, but are not given the screentime to let it all play out. Zeenat Aman as the royal matriarch is also given a criminally under-baked role.

To its credit, The Royals has some unique storylines to root for, but one would have to sift through eight hours of predictable twists and turn to derive something worth watching. Much like the Morpur family, obsessed with its opulent appearance, The Royals finds itself creatively lacking despite possessing a long list of talented names.

The Royals is available for streaming on Netflix