‘Desi Bling’ is just entertaining, and at some point, you might just feel puckish yet not stop watching. From extravagant yacht parties and couture-filled closets to shifting loyalties, or rather no loyalties at all, emotional confrontations, and explosive social dynamics, Netflix’s ‘Desi Bling’ offers a complete showdown in a world where appearances are everything and gossip travels faster than Lamborghinis.

As Karan and Tejasswi, two television actors from Mumbai, navigate this high-stakes ecosystem, the line between glamour and chaos quickly begins to blur. The show reflects how Bollywood is obsessed with Dubai, and our actors are ready to go all the way from India for their private parties. For the socialites of Dubai, mostly we get to see the lives of businessmen; life is all about external appearances, and they spend a lot of time on looking good and not training their intellect. They call it style; I would call it ‘over-the-top fashion,’ which is hardly fashionable.

The 7-episode show highlights a billionaire lifestyle featuring private jets, yachts, designer wardrobes, and high-society gossip, often exploring themes of patriarchy and ego within the elite social circle. The series showcases obnoxious displays of wealth, including dialogue involving 40 kg of gold as a display of love towards a person’s wife. Well, I would call it not love; it can rather be called ‘lust and control.’ As you move from one episode to another, you realise how pretentious the lives of people of Dubai are and that nobody is anybody’s friend; it’s just plain showing off.

We can see Tiger Shroff, Shilpa Shetty, Sunny Leone, Vivek Oberoi, and more—bringing the who’s who of Bollywood into Dubai’s glittering social scene. The show is all about fashion gone wrong. In fact, there is a dialogue where a couple says, “When in Dubai, even if it is a yoga event… we do it in style.” To this I would say, “You all are far from stylish, and just a vulgar display of wealth doesn’t make you stylish!” And I wonder what’s all this obsession with fur, frills, bling, and hideous heart-shaped, jazzy red bags.

Produced by Different Productions- the team behind Dubai Bling– Desi Bling also features real estate entrepreneur and ANAX Holding Chairman Satish Sanpal and Tabinda Sanpal; entrepreneur and Decisive Zone CEO Dyuti Parruck, popularly known as Dubai’s ‘Golden Visa guy,’ alongside his wife, social personality Iryna Kinakh; Mumbai-born, Dubai-based billionaire entrepreneur and luxury real estate figure Rizwan Sajan alongside Adel and Sana Sajan; Mrs UAE World 2022 and Mrs Universe Dubai 2021 Pamela Serena; entrepreneur sisters and content creators Alizey and Lailli Mirza; and astrologer and tarot reader Janvee Gaur.

The main highlights of Netflix’s Desi Bling are the pretentious lives and friendships of the people of Dubai and where old-fashioned gender roles are shown with a lot of pride. A certain woman is shown to take a lot of pride in giving a ‘foot massage’ regularly to her husband, and she recommends that for a ‘happy marriage,’ all women must do this. She is also okay with her husband going out for rave parties with multiple women. Netflix’s ‘Desi Bling’ also not only normalizes toxic relationships but rather glorifies them. Reality TV works best when it’s characters completely forget that the camera behind them and in this case Netflix’s Desi Bling has been successful in it. So, we must admit that no matter how ‘distasteful’ the show is, Desi Bling has done a great job at it. 

As you watch the show, you will realise that money can never buy class. I wish Netflix would come up with more reality series like ‘Desi Bling,’ so the people of India realise that we are not missing out on anything except the pressure to look rich.

Rating: 3 and half (out of 5)

WATCH the trailer of Netflix’s ‘Desi Bling’ below: