Sakshi Tanwar on playing Rani in Netflix’s The Royals: I come from a basic background, never ever seen this life, forget about experiencing it

Sakshi Tanwar on playing Rani in Netflix’s The Royals: I come from a basic background, never ever seen this life, forget about experiencing it

Renowned TV actress Sakshi Tanwar, best known for her portrayals of relatable, everyday women on Indian television, is taking on a completely new avatar in Netflix’s latest show The Royals.

In a heartfelt interaction during the press event she opened up about the challenges of playing a regal, ultra-rich character and how far it was from anything she had lived or experienced. Known for her grounded performances, Sakshi embraced the demanding transformation—mentally and physically—to convincingly portray a queen in the opulent fictional world of the show. She also spoke fondly about working alongside icons like Zeenat Aman and how her co-stars inspired her throughout the process.

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“Thank you so much, it wasn’t easy at all because I for the longest have played characters that have been on the other side of the table, so I have always been an Aam Kumari and this was for the first time that I got to see this life, I have not even seen this life in real, forget about experiencing it. So I come from a very basic background, I have played characters that were close to my background and it never sort of, you know, took me any preparation to be able to portray them. So for the first time when I got a call and I was told that this is the character, I thought no, this can’t be true because no, I have never played this and it just doesn’t seem real and I was a Rani only for my mom because yeah, from being her Bithya Rani to her Rani, Beti, that’s all, that was the closest I had come to being a Rani but yeah, thanks, thank you so much Rangita, thank you Netflix and thank you the writer, the directors to make me feel like one.”

Sharing how daunting her first day on set was, Sakshi added, “So when I was doing my first scene, I was very conscious because I didn’t know how the Royals think because for an actor it’s very important that what you’re going to say, what you’re going to do is at the back of your mind and I had no clue, I had no reference point, nothing and I started faking it and that night I was very uncomfortable because I was like no, I’m not getting it right and this is not the character and I had to stop thinking like who I am and I had to start thinking like who I should be and that’s what I did.”

Speaking about her physical transformation, she credited the styling team, saying, “So from that time I did my makeup which was of course, again a very different thing, Rangita would insist that I put red lipstick and I would be like no, please let me go with the neutral shades and from there to the jewellery, to the costumes, I think the costume department did a fabulous job with it to make me look like one and I think the jewellery also did its trick, its magic because when you wore those sets, the jewellery, the earrings and the diamonds and all, somehow I think it sent a message to my brain that oh, you’re the queen and I just carried that message with me when I went to the set and yeah, pretty.”

When asked about her experience shooting with the legendary Zeenat Aman, Sakshi couldn’t hold back her admiration: “I feel so fortunate. I feel so lucky that most of my scenes are with her and she’s an icon, she’s a diva, she doesn’t have to do anything, she is and I got to learn so much from her, I would just watch her, the way she would sit, the way she would talk, in fact I learnt so much from everyone over here, Ishan, Kavya, Vihar, no really because the way they carry themselves on the set, all the time they’re joking and just when they would say action, they would just get into the skin of the character which took me the longest.”

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She continued, “For a lot of scenes, I would just sit quietly and they would think that you know, maybe I am a quiet person but I would be internally working like no, no, no, you’re the queen, think like a queen, think like a queen and I would not let them distract me so I would just keep to myself and Chunky sir and it was beautiful, I think everything was so nice and I’m glad that we’re doing this today and all those days of preparation because for me every scene was a preparation, helped me do the work today so thank you so much. We love you guys.”

Sakshi Tanwar’s transformation into a royal may have been unexpected, but her honesty and dedication to the craft continue to inspire audiences and fellow actors alike. With The Royals, she not only embraces a new dimension in her acting journey but also celebrates the power of reinvention.