The Royals, starring Ishaan Khatter and Bhumi Pednekar, was recently released on Netflix. The web series details the life of a modern-day royal struggling under financial strain to upkeep a palace. Heritage platform Royal Fables called out Netflix for ‘misrepresentation,’ which caused the internet ‘second-hand embarrassment.’ (Also Read: The Royals director Priyanka Ghose reveals research, improv that went into the Ishaan Khatter, Bhumi Pednekar series)
Royal Fables calls out Netflix’s The Royals
Royal Fables released a long note on their Instagram calling out Netflix ‘on behalf of 565 princely states’. They wrote, “We just finished watching The Royals and immediately felt the strong urge to reach out to you on behalf of the 565 Princely states of India who were portrayed fairly sweepingly in your show.”
The platform pointed out that the ‘rulers’ are generous patrons who ‘brought alive’ many things in Indian culture. The present-day royals also continue to keep this legacy alive, they state, by ‘preserving’ forts, palaces, vintage cars, antique arts and culinary legacy. They then wrote, “Let’s look at the many false narratives your story created, doing a big disservice to this world.”
Everything from the way the royals lived to the way they dressed in the series was pointed out. “Royal families are not poor. They are not selling their palaces or making money from bat poop! They are land owners and inheritors of a rich legacy that they are monetising. Agreed, conserving palaces is a tought (sic) task. Our back breaks if we have to white wash our flats! They have to restore a 400-year-old, 100 rooms monument without losing the historic essence of the property. And no caring corporate or government helps them in the process.”
A scene involving Bhumi was called out too, “Surely no Ravi Varma that costs hundreds of crores is ever sold. Incidentally, how could your smart CEO gift a Ravi Varma to the Rajmata? That too in the hope of starting a ‘home-stay’ that is spread over a single palace wing comprising of a few rooms! The painting would have cost 4x of her entire seed capital.”
Royal Fables also claimed that the series ‘glorified’ royals not doing anything, “Your serial glorified the royals as not needing to do anything. That is not true. The present day royals are educated and employed citizens who fight elections, become ministers, are temple patrons, hoteliers, artists, run craft NGOs, empower women, are chefs, army generals, helm hotels like Taj and Oberoi, are founders of start-ups. They are not decadent, feudal lords and ladies anymore.”
Women in the series wearing ‘overdressed bridal jewels’ and ‘embellished sarees’ over ‘pearl string and chiffon’ or ‘delicately embroidered poshak’ was also called out, apart from he ‘ugly, red sofas’ and the polo riding scenes. They ended the note with, “Our humble request is that the next time when you profile The Royals who are true custodians of Indian history just be sensitive to their heritage and do some research and homework.”
Internet reacts
Since the note gained traction on Instagram, the internet had a field day, calling the post ‘tone deaf’. One Instagram user commented under the post, “I felt second hand embarrassment reading this.” Another wrote, “Touch some grass, maharani.” One sarcastically commented, “Oh no… a fictitious netflix movie didn’t portray some made up royals authentically 🙁 oh noooooo.” Another agreed, “Oh no, the rich and privileged weren’t depicted accurately on screen.”
An Instagram user pointed out, “Honestly, cry me a river. Of all the things to pick apart, this is the hill to die on? In 2025? Awfully fuedalistic about their image now, aren’t they?” One even called it tone deaf, “The chauvinism in this post and the tone deaf dissonance with both past and present is ASTOUNDING. Waste of Doon School/Ivy League education.” Some people even wondered if the note was ‘satire’ and asked the platform to ‘relax’.