When Kim Kardashian landed in Mumbai, India, she thought she could channel her inner Princess Jasmine.
But the reality star landed to a jarring culture shock in the chaotic city—far from the fairytale setting she had imagined.
In a March 13 episode of The Kardashians, viewers followed Kim, 44, and her sister Khloé Kardashian, 40, through their very first trip in the land of spices—and surprises.
Kim and Khloé’s trip to India was captured in a recent episode of The Kardashians
The episode captured the Kardashian sisters’ July 2024 trip to Mumbai to attend the lavish wedding of billionaire heir Anant Ambani—the son of Asia’s wealthiest man—and Radhika Merchant.
The sisters were in the country for only 48 hours, but despite their short stay, they wanted to make the most of their time there.
Shortly after landing at midnight, the LA-based stars headed straight for fittings to try out their traditional looks for the wedding ceremonies.
“We’re only here for 48 hours and we do have a schedule, and we are planning to go to some of the markets,” Khloé said.
They had more fittings during the day but managed to set some time aside for shopping.
That’s when Kim got a reality check and realized her Aladdin-inspired fantasy of walking through an exotic Disney marketplace was not going to come true.
The Skims founder confessed she pictured a different kind of marketplace because of her Aladdin-inspired fantasy
Instead, she got a dose of real Mumbai life, which included stray dogs, blaring horns, unrelenting traffic, and, as Kim succinctly put it, “sweating to death.”
“Shouldn’t we just get in a taxi?” Kim asked the group as she and Khloé walked around the streets.
“At least there’s a Starbucks here,” Khloé quipped.
“Shouldn’t we just get in a taxi?” Kim asked as they walked around Mumbai
When they walked past a stray dog, the Skims founder said she doesn’t do well with “random dogs.”
Khloé, who seemed to be more comfortable with the dog, went on to point towards some kittens.
During the stroll, Kim confessed that she imagined an Aladdin-style “marketplace.”
“I thought it was going to be like the marketplace,” she said. “This is like the streets.”
“What you see Aladdin going through and stealing the bread from,” she went on to explain. “That is where I thought we were going.”
Kim later spoke about her love for Princess Jasmine, the rebellious royal of Agrabah, which is a fictional Disney city set in the Middle East and not India.
Kim admitted she feels like “Princess jasmine” in a post-credits scene
“I just feel like Princess Jasmine,” she said in a post-credits scene. “This is where I am meant to be.”
The sisters revealed they bought silver boxes for everyone in the family to put by their bed.
Her comments on the show faced backlash online, with some calling her views “so uneducated” and “disrespectful.” Some said she had “rich people problems.”
“Such a lack of personal education,” one commenter said, while another wrote, “She’s no princess.”
Netizens slammed the Kardashian sisters after the episode was released
“Agrabah and Aladdin isn’t even based in India; it’s supposed to be the Middle East and is a fictionalized portrayal of Middle Eastern culture (or at least an attempt),” another said. “They should have tried the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.”
One wrote, “The Middle East and India are very different places lol,”
“How ignorant can you be?!” another asked. “FFS!”
“No wonder they don’t realize that Aladdin wasn’t Indian. The only real talent these botched silicone royals have is swindling confused, naive wealthy men who have no clue what to do with their privileged lives,” said another critic.
The March 13 episode of The Kardashians ended with the title card, “In loving memory of the Ambani wedding diamond.”
This was done in honor of a diamond that Kim lost while attending the wedding.
The sisters were decked in Indian attire and jewelry for the Ambani wedding, and Kim admitted to losing one of the jewels during the festivities.
“I’m just like, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to have to pay for this,’” she said.
At the time, Kim also sparked outrage for wearing a red outfit to one of the wedding ceremonies because the color is traditionally reserved for the bride.
However, Kim later clarified that the Ambani family had pre-approved all the outfit choices presented to them.
“In the olden days in India, you couldn’t wear red,” Kim said on the episode. “But now red is accepted, so I’m gonna wear red.”
She was also captured visiting the ISKCON temple in the city of Mumbai with Jay Shetty and his wife, Radhi Devlukia.
Netizens criticized her when she was captured serving food to a group of schoolchildren.
“What…she’s handing out food! Just for the camera…soooo silly!” a critic said at the time.
“Apparently, I don’t have the physical ability to roll my eyes hard enough at this,” a social media user said after the recent episode of The Kardashians
