Netflix’s much-anticipated romantic satire The Royals had its trailer launch this Tuesday in a truly regal fashion—an event marked by glamour, grandeur, and heartfelt conversations. The series promises to be a sparkling blend of modern romance and biting social commentary, and one of its stars, Ishaan Khatter, took a moment to reflect on what makes the show so special.
Speaking at the trailer launch, Ishaan described the unique tone of The Royals, calling it both entertaining and emotionally rich.“The writers had clear references and inspiration. Since this is a modern satire on contemporary royalty, Young Royals was definitely a point of reference. But what really inspired me was the inner world of my character. On the surface, it’s a very bingeable, snackable, fun show—with all the fluff, fun, and shimmer. But as you go deeper, you start to see the cracks. There’s real meat on the bone. And as an actor, that duality was incredibly exciting.”
Ishaan also praised the powerful creative team behind the show—many of whom are women—and how that shaped his performance.“I was surrounded by an incredibly inspiring team. I was padded by a set of wonderful, wonderful women—something that’s becoming a recurring theme in my career. Over 50% of the directors, cinematographers, and creative collaborators I’ve worked with in leading roles have been women. I’ve truly been molded by female creators, and I think that made my job easier. I had that gaze to fall back on.”
When asked about his chemistry with co-star Bhumi Pednekar, Ishaan responded with a smile:“It’s romance! I just said, ‘Tell me what to do and I’ll deliver.’”He added that their on-screen dynamic grew naturally out of time spent building rapport off-camera.“We had significant time together—we did a lot of readings, exercises, and just hung out. We found our chemistry as Ishaan and Bhumi, and that trickled its way into the show. It’s a classic romance with heightened situations. We all had fun exploring our characters.”
Directed by Priyanka Ghose and Nupur Asthana, The Royals is penned by Neha Veena Sharma and produced by Pritish Nandy Communications. The Netflix series is created by Rangita Pritish Nandy and Ishita Pritish Nandy. Featuring a stellar ensemble cast—including Zeenat Aman, Sakshi Tanwar, Nora Fatehi, Dino Morea, Milind Soman, Chunky Panday, Vihaan Samat, Kavya Trehan, Sumukhi Suresh, Udit Arora, Lisa Mishra, and Luke Kenny—The Royals is set to premiere on Netflix on May 9.