Skulls & Roses review: Raghu and Rajiv serve pain and pleasure in a world of beaches and buffed bods

Skulls & Roses review: Raghu and Rajiv of Roadies fame put together a reality show that offers best of both heaven and hell.

Skulls & Roses
Cast : Raghu Ram, Rajiv Lakshman
Creator: Raghu Ram and Rajiv Lakshman
Rating: 4

Raghu as the king of Skull Island on Skulls & Roses.

What happens when personable single women and men with six-pack abs come together in a ‘paradise’ with beaches and castles? Sounds like a TRP-spinner if we ever heard of one, and now add Raghu playing Thanos as he maintains the balance of this artificial universe in this world of Skulls & Roses.

The Roadies twins -- Raghu Ram and Rajiv Lakshman’s new reality web series brings together two diverse worlds as distinct as heaven and hell. But it’s not just a jail and a castle especially set up in Africa for the purpose, it is the real identity of a person and their decision of choosing ‘we’ or ‘me’.

 Watch Skulls & Roses trailer

While Rajiv turns into cupid on the Rose Island, Raghu is a dreaded villain on the Skull Island. Rose Island, as the name suggests, has a sea-view castle and all things nice to bring the opposite sexes together. While some end up falling in love at first sight, others need some convincing to nurture relationships on the show.

The show serves pleasure and pain in equal measure as 10 participants begin their journey with a chemistry test set up by Rajiv on the Rose Island, the winner of which gets to go on a romantic date straight out of one’s dreams.

As the show begins, couples are formed in no time based on instant connections.

Participants had the time of their lives on the Rose Island.

While many may find the intimacy cringeworthy, Raghu makes sure to maintain the balance on the Skull island where participants do not come for breaking the law but are broken by the law instead. Food is thrown on a steel slab and the ones who couldn’t make the cut during the chemistry test are asked to lick it as their hands and legs are chained in shackles. Submission in every way remains the rule of this place as the hunks and ladies end up feeling worthless as they go to sleep on the floor without any mattresses. Raghu and Rajiv make one ground rule clear -- losers are the ones who trust, and those who break it emerge as survivors.

From running in fire to getting electric shocks, walking on a tightrope to bathing with cockroaches, Raghu makes it a hell but alas, there’s nothing on his show that we haven’t seen on other adventure reality shows like Fear Factor or Roadies already. The land of love brings diverse men and women together as they appear for several tests based on the five senses. From body painting, mouthing fake orgasms, attempting complicated sex positions to lap dancing at Rose Island, every pleasure is followed by pain at the Skull island.

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Participants face Raghu’s atrocities on the Skull Island.

While Rose Island reminds you of The Bachelorette or Splitsvilla, it is the Fear Factor and Roadies on the Skull Island. But just like Thanos, the lookalike twin brothers balance it well. The romantic dates of the top couples lend an idea for the romantic souls whereas the balancing of the two worlds looks impressive from a diverse point of view. Single or committed, atleast one world looks appealing to the viewer. The technology used for the competitions is as impressive as the beaches and bodies. Now, only if they could have thought of some novel concepts.

Author tweets @ruchik87

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