New day, new reality show. Desi Bling dropped on Netflix India, and honestly, the internet cannot stop talking about it. The show centres around a group of wealthy Indians who either reside in Dubai or have shifted there, living their most flashy and over-the-top lives. From tall penthouses and luxury cars to designer outfits, loud make-up and extravagant parties, the series dives deep into how wealth, social status and ambition work in a city already known for its extravagance. Add friendships, rivalries, betrayal, drama and love to the mix, and you basically have a full-blown guilty pleasure watch.
You will love it, hate it, but definitely can't ignore it. OTT and binge-watchers officially have a new obsession this weekend. The seven-episode reality series, which premiered on May 20, is being called the Indian adaptation of Dubai Bling. And within hours of release, social media was flooded with reactions from viewers, many calling it pretentious, scripted and overly dramatic, but somehow still addictive enough to keep watching.
Along with television couple Karan Kundrra and Tejasswi Prakash, the show features several members from Dubai's elite social circle, including Satish Sanpal, Tabinda Sanpal, Rizwan Sajan, Adel Sajan, Sana Sajan, Pamala Serena, Dyuti Parruck, Iryna Kinakh, Alizey Mirza, Lailli Mirza and Janvee Gaur.
You wil cringe hard, but can't skip
The reality series has been created and produced by Different Productions, with Mazen Laham and Lama Samad serving as executive producers, while Marcel Dufour is the showrunner.
From gaudy outfits to flashy styling and way-too-loud make-up, Desi Bling is trending everywhere. Instagram is filled with clips and screenshots from the show, especially Satish and Tabinda Sanpal's dramatic bedroom scenes.
One moment that particularly sparked discussion online featured Dubai-based billionaire Satish Sanpal and his wife Tabinda Sanpal. In one scene, Tabinda is seen giving her husband a foot massage every morning. She also justifies Satish partying with "every girl in town", calling her actions sanskar and Dharam. And if that wasn't enough, she casually mentions that in return, she gets Hermès bags and gold. Unsurprisingly, the internet had a field day reacting to it.
A large section of viewers described the series as artificial despite its lavish presentation. Many felt the show lacked authenticity and relied too heavily on flashy drama. But then again, maybe that's exactly the point.
While Satish and Tabinda definitely grabbed attention, it was Tejasswi and Karan who completely hogged the limelight online. Karan was dubbed a walking red flag by many viewers as he kept poking Tejasswi and was mostly seen partying, very unlike the image audiences had of him from reality shows like Bigg Boss and Laughter Chef.
Tejasswi, meanwhile, became one of the few people viewers found "normal" on the show. Some even felt she looked out of place among the chaos and the pretentious energy around her.
Apart from the lavish lifestyle and dramatic fights, Tejasswi Prakash and Lailli Mirza became two of the biggest talking points online. But the biggest viral moment from the show was undoubtedly Karan's proposal to Tejasswi.
During one emotional episode, Karan went down on one knee and asked his longtime girlfriend, "Tejasswi Prakash, will you marry me?" Calling their relationship an "imperfectly perfect love story", he proposed with a massive diamond ring. Tejasswi said yes, cried and said, "You are everything to me, why am I crying?"
Fans flooded X with emotional reactions. One user wrote, "Watching that proposal felt so personal somehow." Shortly after the episode aired, Karan shared a tweet saying, "How's the josh?" — and fans were convinced it was his indirect reaction to the proposal episode finally streaming online.
One fan replied, "We're literally screaming and crying happy tears right now. Four years later and you guys still make us believe in fairytales. Our hearts are so full. TejRan forever!"
However, the proposal did not go down well with Karan's ex-girlfriend Anusha Dandekar, who also happens to be the sister of Shibani Dandekar. Anusha took to Instagram Stories and shared a cryptic note saying, "I'm thanking God!!! #iykyk."
Although she did not mention anyone by name, social media users quickly assumed the post was indirectly aimed at Karan and Tejasswi's viral engagement moment. But netizens did not seem too happy with Anusha constantly taking indirect digs at Karan, with many asking her to "move on".
During Tejasswi's appearance on Desi Bling, she was also asked about the cheating allegations that surfaced online after Karan's breakup with Anusha. Defending her partner, Tejasswi said, "We all have our pasts. Somebody's past is out there in public. Whether he cheated or not, again, we don't know, because he has told me. He thought, 'I don't care if the world knows, you need to know the real thing.'"
Social media reactions to the show continue to be absolutely chaotic.
One netizen tweeted, "#DesiBling is crack scripted entertainment. If you are looking for morally pure characters, it's not for you. Twins, Teja and Pamala were best characters, their reactions made me laugh. Lailli and Pamala cat fights were so funny ."
Another wrote, "#DesiBling is the reminder why I hated Teja in #BiggBoss. Karan run while u still have time. Except Tabinda none of the participants are likeable at all, but then Tabinda is also frustrating with her naiveness and pati parmeshwar sh*t."
Another post read, "Desi Bling stands out for how artificial it feels. A lot of the time, there's a lack of authenticity and basic manners. On top of that, it's the kind of flashy extravagance that comes across as fake and tacky rather than elegant. But bad is good to watch."
One viewer even joked that Desi Bling is "so bad that Rizwan Dhanbe Properties sales might just fall flat."
Another user wrote, "Let me indulge in some trash TV #DesiBling and let me just say it's giving very pretentious, but Teju is giving major mean girl energy and Lailli, well, she's got some major issues."
Love it or hate it, Desi Bling has officially become the internet's latest obsession: messy, dramatic, flashy and impossible to ignore.
