It has been less than a week since Priyanka Ghose’s The Royals, with Nupur Asthana directing two episodes, has been released on Netflix. But she has no time to stop and smell the roses as she’s busy shooting ‘something exciting’ with an ensemble cast for Roy Kapur Films. “I’ve received so many calls from people who have binge-watched it, I’ve been showered with love and praises,” says the director in an interview with Hindustan Times. (Also Read: Ishaan Khatter, Bhumi Pednekar open up about working together in The Royals, and how trolling is now ‘people’s pastime’)
While catching a breath from filming her next, Priyanka tells us all about the research, improvisation and more that went into making the Ishaan Khatter and Bhumi Pednekar-led web series.
The grandiose world of The Royals
Given the title, it’s pretty obvious that The Royals follows a financially struggling royal family in modern-day India. Of course, this means an abundance of mirrored ceilings, champagne flutes, diamond jewellery, and vast rooms fill every frame of the show. However, Priyanka says the challenge with the series was not handling the scale but bringing this world filled with filthy rich people to life while keeping them relatable.
“I travelled to Rajasthan to hunt for locations where we could bring the Moti Bagh Palace to life. I was able to interact with actual royal families and their staff to understand how they live, talk, even greet…it was a history class. Everything represented in the show is fictional, frothy and over-the-top, but I needed to do research to hold on to something that really exists. I also felt it would be unfair if I didn’t do my due diligence. I felt a sense of responsibility in representing the royals well,” explains Priyanka.
Besides, shooting stories set in wealthy settings is nothing new for Priyanka, who worked as an AD on Season 1 of Aarya and directed Broken But Beautiful Season 3 and the Indian adaptation of The Night Manager. “I’ve rarely worked with stories set in the heartland. So the challenge lies in trying my best to dissect and find relatable human emotions in relationships, even if it’s in a palace. I wasn’t raised in elite society, so I know I can depict something I resonate with. I see with a critical lens to ensure I am convinced these are real people with real problems,” she explains.
Encouraging improv on set
Priyanka says not just Ishaan and Bhumi but everyone else—be it Zeenat Aman and Sakshi Tanwar, Dino Morea and Chunky Panday, Nora Fatehi, Vihaan Samat, and Kavya Trehan—brought their A-game during filming. “Ishaan and Bhumi had a solid 2-3 months with me at the scripting stage, so we collaborated on bringing Aviraaj Singh and Sophia Kanmani Shekhar to life. Bhumi had suggestions about her dressing, even her dialogues, while Ishaan’s inputs were just taken everywhere, even in other scenes,” says Priyanka, calling them her ‘constant collaborators’.
As for the rest of the cast, Priyanka points out one particular scene in the second episode where Ishaan is reprimanded by Zeenat and Sakshi’s characters about his American girlfriend. “Zeenat Ma’am never asked me till then if she could improvise. Some of the funniest dialogues, including the situationship one and Stars and Stripes, came from her. Sakshi Ma’am, too, had suggestions I was more than happy to take. I wanted to give them the freedom to have fun, and I would find a way to incorporate it. It was beautiful to see such talented actors just play off each other,” says the director.
Representing an affluent India globally
But for Priyanka, shooting these shows is not just about the glitz and glamour; it’s also about presenting a different side of India globally. “When The Night Manager was nominated for an Emmy, I remember the love and appreciation I received from my counterparts in the US. It was like the world was pleasantly surprised to discover the rich and wealthy side of India, thanks to OTT,” she says, adding, “Globally, they’ve mostly been exposed to a different depiction of India. When in reality, India has always been a rich nation, in terms of heritage and culture. I mean, the Ambani wedding also really made the world privy to how our rich live.”
Priyanka says that it’s also not a mean feat for a female director to be given the kind of budgets and span she has been handed. “The situation was so dire when I started out in this field. Even today, there are times when a cameraman will mistake me for an AD, or studio heads in boardrooms think of me as a young little girl. But I paid my dues, and it took me ten long years to arrive here. I saw sets go from having female crew members be a rarity to people getting used to having a woman in a position of power. But, there’s a long way to go for equality,” she says, rounding off.