The Royals Director Says ‘Will Try Better Next Time’ After Ishaan-Bhumi Face Backlash
Director Priyanka Ghose addressed backlash over casting Ishaan Khatter and Bhumi Pednekar, shirtless scenes, and Zeenat Aman’s cameo in The Royals.
Netflix India’s new romantic comedy The Royals came out last week with eight episodes. While it looks grand with fancy sets and beautiful costumes, many viewers and critics feel the story isn’t strong enough. Some also said the main actors don’t have much chemistry. The director of The Royals, Priyanka Ghose, has now responded to the criticism the show has been getting. Some people didn’t like the pairing of Ishaan Khatter and Bhumi Pednekar, Ishaan’s shirtless scenes, and even Zeenat Aman’s cameo.
Responding to the backlash, Priyanka Ghose told India Today, “With Bhumi’s casting by Netflix, I was actually very open to the idea of trying this new pairing. They are both such powerful actors, and I was excited to see them embody glamourous roles, which goes against both of their works so far. While Ishaan hasn’t got a chance to play a glamorous mainstream hero role, Bhumi has always been like the queen of heartland India.”
Adding that their chemistry never seemed weird, Priyanka said, “If it didn’t work for some people, I will try better next time. But there are also people who enjoyed the show and their chemistry. It’s crazy how polarised the feedback has been.”
The director also spoke about Ishaan’s shirtless scenes in the show. She said those scenes were already in the original script and felt natural, not too much. The team, including Ishaan, made sure not to overdo it. They had stylish clothes ready for his character, but ended up using them less often.
“Ishaan is an intelligent actor, and he wouldn’t have agreed to take his shirt off at the drop of a hat. He is always conscious of that, and there were times when he even discussed if we were overdoing it. There was actually an amazing fashionable wardrobe for him, and we would have loved to use more clothes on him,” Priyanka said.
Priyanka further claimed that Zeenat Aman’s role was always intended to be a special appearance. “It was never meant to be a full track. Whenever we have legendary superstars making cameo appearances, we crave more, and the same happened with Zeenat ma’am. As much as I would have loved, the script had only those many scenes.”
The Royals is set in the fictional town of Morpur and tells the story of a young prince named Aviraaj, also called Fizzy (played by Ishaan Khatter), who has no interest in royal duties. But after his father dies, he finds out the family is nearly broke and has no choice but to take on the role of Maharaj.
To save the crumbling palace, the royal family teams up with a modern startup. The CEO, Sophia (Bhumi Pednekar), has a bold idea to turn the palace into a fancy bed-and-breakfast. As Fizzy and Sophia try to work together, their different worlds clash. The series also features Sakshi Tanwar, Milind Soman, Nora Fatehi, Vihaan Samat, Dino Morea, and more in key roles.
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