Maharaja-Sized Cast with Dramas Enough to Fill a Family WhatsApp Group
Let’s get straight: Netflix’s The Royals is not your average shaadi-wedding drama or your typical palace ki kahani. This show, directed by Priyanka Ghose and Nupur Asthana, is what happens when you throw together a party-loving, polo-playing prince (Ishaan Khatter as Aviraaj Singh) and a no-nonsense startup CEO (Bhumi Pednekar as Sophia Shekhar) and ask them to save a crumbling palace in the fictional city of Morpur, India.
The supporting cast is a who’s who of Indian-cinema: Zeenat Aman as the regal Aunty Marji, Sakshi Tanwar as the ever-suffering Padmaja, Nora Fatehi oozing glamour as Ayesha, and a host of others like Vihaan Samat, Dino Morea, Milind Soman, and even the party uncle Chunky Panday- The chemistry between the Bhumi and Ishaan is as fiery as roadside chaat, verbal lashings compliment each other in the speed with which the palace peacocks fly. When you think your own family is messed up, please wait until you see this royal circus trying to operate a luxury bed-and-breakfast, avoiding bankruptcy and their egos.
The Royals Screenplay and Storyline: Bridgerton v. BandBaaja Baaraat, with some butter chicken as a side.
The screenplay Neha Veena Sharma pens down is an intoxicating combination of savvy bickering, palace intrigue, and enough enemies to lovers to leave even your neighbourhood aunty panting for more. The plot is simple: Prince Aviraaj is left with the title but no paisa, while Sophia, the girlboss CEO, has a business strategy to O Down his ancestral Haveli. Naturally, nothing is ever a simple story: there are class clashes, family secrets, and enough twists to spin your head faster than a dandiya stick.
The dialogue is smugly Indian English, love it-think “What is your good name?” and “Please do the needful” – and somehow landing, comfortably and riotously accurate. The show is not afraid of mocking traditions of royalty while providing us with a modern romance that’s as much about finding oneself as it is about sparing faces to the scrutinising relatives. If you’re hoping for a Shakespearean handkerchief, you’ll get frustrated. This is more of a Karan Johar movie with WiFi.
The Royals Music: Fusing Dance Pop’s elements, the Nostalgia movement and a little of the Desi Drama.
Now, let’s discuss music. What is a royal rom-com without some chartbusters? Soundtrack, distributed by Netflix Music and Universal Music India, is a portion of ecstatic dance-pop duets and nostalgic remixes. We have “Who Rules The World” and “Adayein Teri” to tap your feet, and a rehashed oldie “Tu Tu Hai Wahi” for the lovers of old songs. Music is as loud as costumes – a bit too much, but entertaining all the time. Whether a palace party or a dramatic confrontation in Haveli’s courtyard, one can never forget that this is a Netflix production with Bollywood DNA, thanks to the background score.
Comparing The Royals: Indian English as opposed to the Queen’s English, Sass vs. Sass vs. Queen’s English Class
If you’re hoping for the stiff-upper-lip drama of The Crown, check your monocle before continuing to other things. The Royals are proudly Indian in their language, humour, and attitude. The characters break out in English lines in desi flair: “You are too much, yaar!” and “Don’t take tension, we’ll manage.” The show is not self-serious, mocking royal pretensions and startup-hustle culture. It is like watching Bridgerton on the back of three glasses of masala chai-louder, brighter, and with lots more attitude.
The series not only breaks the fourth wall; it adorns it with garlands of marigold and holds a party. In short, The Royals is a glorious, glittery mess-equal parts crown and clown, with enough heart to make you root for its misfit royals, even as you roll your eyes at their melodrama.
Final Word: The Royals Watch It or Skip It?
So, should you watch The Royals? If an effortless-cool rom-com with palace intrigue, contemporary satire, and drama so that your actual relatives come off as usual is your thing, this is your binge. It is cast heavy, the music is catchy, the screenplay a riot of Indian English one-liners and royal melodrama. Sometimes, it’s more style than substance, but isn’t that what we all secretly love about our OTT dramas? In true Indian English style: “Myself, thoroughly entertained. What about you?”
Also Read: 1983: Bollywood Cinematic Revolution, Near-Death Drama, and the Dawn of Inclusive Storytelling
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