The Royals: 5 Honest Thoughts On Ishaan Khatter, Bhumi Pednekar’s Grand Netflix Show!
Bhumi Pendekar and Ishaan Khatter starrer The Royals is currently streaming on Netflix. Watch it at your own risk!
I am all there for an easy-breezy, binge-worthy show. Shows which feel like a soft touch of love that’s missing IRL, or that make you burst out in laughter at the one-liners, like the ROFL moments, you know! These shows are like a breath of fresh air; one doesn’t need to put much thought into them, and they are meant to be enjoyed in one go. I occasionally treat myself with such shows. But looks like, in today’s time, we have an overdose of such content, except that the easy-breezy part is missing from them. Brainless, fine, but lacks common sense too? I don’t think the show needs any kind of introduction now, and no points for guessing that I am indeed talking about the latest Bhumi Pednekar and Ishaan Khatter venture, The Royals. Here are my two cents on the same!
1. Eight Grand Episodes Of Nil Battey Sannata!
I kid you not, I watched the eight episodes of Ishaan Khatter and Bhumi Pednekar’s show The Royals looking for a substantial plot. I watched it with the hope that I might end up getting one strong hook in the show, but the Dora: The Explorer in me was left feeling baffled. The show offers a confused storyline where the characters keep diverting from their ambitions, just like the lost plot. I had a hard time figuring out the priorities of a CEO (Bhumi Pendekar) and the young Maharaja of Morpur (Ishaan Khatter), and TBH, felt a little better about myself, at least I am not THIS lost! In fact, the show itself did not prioritise the writing, and focused on everything irrelevant.
2. Never Seen Before Supporting Characters!
Bro, it hurts, it honestly hurts to see amazing actors perform such badly written characters. We will discuss the lead characters later, but what was wrong with the writing of the supporting cast? An actor like Sumukhi Suresh played the role of an underconfident, awkward and not-at-all-funny (that’s her USP) secretary to the CEO, and it was painful to see that. The dialogues were all the more annoying! A star like Zeenat Aman was left underutilized, and her role was boiled down to just being a rich Royal, smoking pot and giving feminist advice to her daughter-in-law. It’s sad! Sakshi Tanwar’s character as Rani-Sa was nothing less than a parody! Let’s not even talk about the rest.
3. Oh, Chemistry, But Exactly Where?
The Royals was a much-awaited show because Ishaan and Bhumi had a promising chemistry, but sadly, promises are meant to be broken! My friends have had better chemistry with their situationships. There was hardly any fire, love, or romance felt in the back-and-forth chemistry between Ishaan’s Aviraaj and Bhumi’s Sophia. Either the definition of chemistry has changed, or I have high standards. The latter seems to be more convincing!
Also Read: Did Ishaan Khatter Charge Extra To Take His Shirt Off For The Royals? Here’s The Truth!
4. Performances, Erm!
Barring the countless, unnecessary, could be avoided shirtless shots of Ishaan Khatter, the actor was quite the perfect fit for this role. He was charming, but that’s pretty much it for the character. Due to the character’s weak writing, all other emotions portrayed by Ishaan Khatter were futile. Bhumi Pendekar’s Sophia was another half-baked character, and the actor did everything to keep it going, but there was no spark!
5. All This For Nothing!
Grand but hollow. Stylish but shallow. Lengthy but pointless. Rom-com but with no romance or comedy. An ensemble cast but of no use! A show that comes with no purpose, and is here to build a new genre for itself. A genre that is way beyond our level of understanding!
Spoiler alert, but The Royals is going to have a second part too. But no pressure, we can wait!
First Published: May 12, 2025 3:58 PM
