A ROYAL AFFAIR

Ishaan Khatter and Bhumi Pednekar discuss their rom-com The Royals, working with an ensemble cast that included Zeenat Aman & the dearth of romances in Hindi cinema

- KARTIK BHARDWAJ

O all princes need to know how to ride a horse? Ishaan Khatter disagrees. How about having six-pack abs? The actor chuckles before putting on a serious face. "I am offended. It's an eight-pack."

Khatter plays the quintessential royal scion in Netflix's upcoming rom-com The Royals. He slips into the shiny shoes of Aviraaj Singh, a privileged, polo-playing, haughty prince of the estate of Morpur. The empire, though, is waning. The royal family is in debt. Enter Bhumi Pednekar's girlboss Sophia Shekhar, the CEO of a hospitality company who has grand plans to make the palace a "Royal bread and breakfast" experience. Singh is arrogant, Shekhar is determined. The palatial corridors will go head-on with corporate glass cabins, but love will bloom, eventually.

The series, directed by Priyanka Ghose and Nupur Asthana, features an impressive cast of Zeenat Aman, Sakshi Tanwar, Dino Morea, Chunky Pandey, Milind Soman, Nora Fatehi, Vihaan Samat and Sumukhi Suresh, among others.