Three things that Reshma Shetty brings to Royal Pains – Clacking in Color

You know, I couldn’t imagine a life without diversity in television. I also couldn’t fathom an existence without being able to write. With that being said, I bet you can just imagine my exhilaration when I was invited to become one of this website’s esteemed writers at the start of this year. As one of the newest clackers to the clique, I was more than eager to do my part. To that end, I began covering a variety of television shows, some of which, I hadn’t even seen before. Among the programs that I began watching on a more consistent basis was USA’s Royal Pains, a feel-good medical show filled to the brim with complex health cases, beautiful locations and sophisticated doctors.

In the midst of those good-looking physicians is Dr. Divya Katdare, better known to TV junkies as actress Reshma Shetty. Besides adding a spark of much needed diversity to an otherwise snow-white cast — and I’m not talking about the Disney classic — Shetty brings so much more to the table. She offers equal doses of spunk and authenticity.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall … who’s the actress to watch this fall? Aside from Desperate Housewives’ Vanessa Williams, I’m going to go with Shetty. If you’ve read any of my recaps for Royal Pains you’ll know that I think Shetty’s all kinds of awesome. Aside from that, I believe the show honestly benefits from having her for a variety of different reasons. What are some of those reasons you may ask? Kudos to you for being inquisitive! Here are three things that Shetty brings to the table, or gurney, so to speak:

1. Sex appeal! Quite frankly, this was probably always the elephant in the room, so I wanted to go ahead and get it out of the way. Um, how can I put this lightly? Reshma Shetty is fine! There. I said it. Well, I mean, she is. As Divya, she tends to stay in the latest fashions even when she’s broke … as evidenced in a certain story arc that took place last season. It seems the producers know what they have on their hands. Lord knows I do.
2. Smarts! I think it’s pretty cool that with Shetty we get essentially two for the price of one considering that she’s both a woman and of Indian descent. However, I think it’s fantastic that her character is fundamentally a genius … well, maybe that’s stretching it a bit. Nevertheless, Divya knows her stuff and she’s proven to be an invaluable alley to HankMed. Quick question for Royal Pains enthusiasts — does anyone remember the episode when Divya removed a pole from a man by using spare parts in her Jeep? You do? Great! Then you’ll know what I mean when I say she’s the MacGyver of medicine!
3. Talent! True aptitude resonates, and there is no doubt in my mind that Shetty has it. As someone who was heavily involved in community theatre, I tend to study actors and actresses in television and film in order to learn what makes them tick. What I’ve discovered is that Shetty is every bit as good as her costars, and her scenes with leading actor Mark Feuerstein are always interesting. She has good chemistry and she’s more than just wallpaper … which is a lot more than I can say about her costar Jill Flint. No disrespect to the wonderful actress, but the writers just never seem to give her much to do … but that’s a topic for another column.

So, is Shetty the MVP in the cast of Royal Pains? I’d certainly like to say so, but ultimately that depends on the thoughts of the viewers. We’re all entitled to our own opinions. Still, I couldn’t imagine the show without Shetty lending her talents and flair. Without her on board to ruffle feathers and help save the day by being smart and looking gorgeous, the show would be a little dull, and nobody wants that.

After all, wouldn’t that be a royal pain?

Clacked by Jaylen Christie
on Mar 20, 2012 @ 10:00 EST5EDT