Indian Matchmaking Explained

Genre:Reality television
Creator:Smriti Mundhra
Presenter:Sima Taparia
Num Seasons:3
Num Episodes:24
Runtime:26-42 minutes
Company:The Intellectual Property Corporation
Network:Netflix

Indian Matchmaking is a 2020 Indian reality television series produced by Smriti Mundhra that premiered on Netflix on 16 July 2020.[1] [2] [3] In August 2021, Netflix renewed the series for a second season.[4] In March 2022, Netflix renewed the series for a third season,[5] which premiered in April 2023.[6]

Cast

NameAgeJobCitySeasons
123
Aparna Shewakramani34attorney and general counselHoustoncolspan="1"
Pradhyuman Maloo
(sometimes referred as Pradhyumn)		30jewelerMumbaicolspan="1"
Nadia Christina Jagessar33event planner who runs her own company, Euphoria Events, and works as a marketer for GivaudanNew Jerseycolspan="1"
Vyasar Ganesan30teacher, college counsellor, and writerAustincolspan="2"
Akshay Jakhete36businessmanMumbaicolspan="2"
Ankita Bansal30businesswoman in garment e-commerceDelhicolspan="2"
Rupam KaurDenver

Supporting cast

Release

Indian Matchmaking first aired on 16 July 2020, on Netflix.

Episodes

Season 3 (2023)

Production

Development

Series director Smriti Mundhra pitched the idea of the show to a TV producer in 2009/2010, but the show was rejected for "essentially not being white enough."[21] She pitched the show to Netflix by showing Taparia, who "were super excited about it."[22] She had met Taparia three years before Indian Matchmaking premiered on Netflix, when she documented the lives of other three women going through the Indian marriage process in the 2017 documentary, A Suitable Girl.[23] Taparia's daughter was one of the young women featured.

Casting

Mundhra named the casting the biggest hurdle of the show, going through a client list of 500 families and calling to see if they were willing to be on camera. Mundhra also noted that the series initially started with about a dozen singles but some of those "fell off" during production.[10]

Critical reception

The show received mixed reviews between critics and social media users.[24] [25] [26] Inkoo Kang of The Hollywood Reporter called the show "insightful, humorous and heartwarming," praising how it showcases the preoccupation with height and caste, as well as Taparia's matchmaking tactics.[3] Kristen Baldwin of Entertainment Weekly gave the show a B+, stating that the show as presented in a "glossy, cosmopolitan drama, without a hint of 'look at these crazy foreigners and their kooky customs!' condescension."[27] Joel Keller of Decider called people to stream it, saying that it "brings thousands of years of tradition into the mix, and there’s a much better chance that the matches that are made at the end of the season will last."[28] Archi Sengupta of Techquila rated the show 4 stars out of 5, calling it "sweet and entertaining."[29]

Reinforcing religion and caste segregation

Though the show is called Indian Matchmaking, it portrays no couples who identify as Muslim, Christian, or Dalit— communities that represent close to 40 percent of India's population.[30] [31] The show has also been criticised for normalizing caste based discrimination such as when matchmaker Taparia declares "In India, we have to see the caste, we have to see the height..." which Yashica Dutt of The Atlantic describes as "lump[ing] an entire social system, which assigns people to a fixed place in a hierarchy from birth, together with anodyne physical preferences."[30] Per Dutt, in the show, caste preference is coded into harmless phrases such as "similar backgrounds," "shared communities," and "respectable families," and "the show does exactly what many upper-caste Indian families tend to do when discussing this fraught subject: It makes caste invisible."[30] The show was also said to further endorse and promote gender stereotypes.[32]

In addition to showing "classist" and "casteist" stereotypes, the show was criticised for whitewashing the idea of arranged marriages.[31] [33] [34] Kennith Rosario of The Hindu labeled the show as "The big fat desi stereotype," saying that the characters "believe in some of the most atavistic ideals of marriage, and the show, in its glossy demeanour, endorses it."[35] [36] Sushri Sahu of Mashable gave the show a 2/5 on the Mash Meter, criticizing how the show is "problematic and cheesy in equal parts."[37] In response to the criticisms, Smriti Mundhra stated that she hoped that "it will spark a lot of conversations that all of us need to be having in the South Asian community with our families – that it’ll be a jumping-off point for reflections about the things that we prioritize, and the things that we internalize.”[38] [39] Ravi Guru Singh, a cast member who wrote a personal piece for the Huffington Post about his appearance on episode 2 of the show, criticized the producers for misrepresenting his appearance and failing to "discuss and explore casteism, homophobia and ethnocentrism."[40]

The Los Angeles Times followed up with the couples appearing on the show and reported that they are not together anymore.[41]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ramadurai . Charukesi . Indian Matchmaking: The reality show that's divided viewers . BBC . 23 February 2021.
  2. Prepare to fall in love with Indian Matchmaking: Review . Entertainment Weekly . 2020-07-16 .
  3. Web site: 'Indian Matchmaking': TV Review. Kang, Inkoo. The Hollywood Reporter. 10 July 2020.
  4. Web site: 'The Circle', 'Indian Matchmaking' & 'The American Barbecue Showdown' Renewed At Netflix. Deadline Hollywood. White. Peter. 9 August 2021.
  5. Web site: Sisavat . Monica. "Indian Matchmaking" Renewed For Season 3. PopSugar. 24 March 2022.
  6. News: Deggans . Eric . 'It's about time': How 'Indian Matchmaking' found love - and success - on Netflix . 22 April 2023 . NPR . 21 April 2023.
  7. Web site: What Is the Cost of Hiring Sima Taparia?. Mehrotra, Kriti. 17 July 2020. TheCinemaholic.
  8. Web site: Indian Matchmaking: Everything we Know About Matchmaker Sima Taparia. Hill, Kennedy. 5 July 2020. Screen Rant.
  9. Web site: Here's What We Know About Sima Taparia, the Matchmaker on Netflix's Indian Matchmaking. Freedman, Adrianna. 13 July 2020. Men's Health.
  10. Web site: Inside Netflix's eye-opening look at arranged marriage, your next reality TV obsession. 17 July 2020. Villarreal, Yvonne. The Los Angeles Times.
  11. Web site: Who is Sima Taparia? Husband, career and Indian Matchmaking explored. 16 July 2020. Edwards, Eve. Reality Titbit.
  12. Web site: Families Around the World Seek out the Services of Indian Matchmaker Sima Taparia. Raga, Pippa. Distractify. 17 July 2020.
  13. Web site: Swartz. Tracy. Chicago lawyer talks life after Netflix's 'Indian Matchmaking'. 2020-11-20. chicagotribune.com. 24 July 2020 .
  14. Web site: 16 August 2020. Chicagoan Shekar Jayaraman talks about his experience on new Netflix show 'Indian Matchmaking'. 2020-11-20. ABC7 Chicago. en.
  15. Web site: 2020-07-21. 'Indian Matchmaking' star Nadia reveals if she is still together with Shekar. 2020-11-20. Newsweek. en.
  16. Web site: 2016-04-19. About Shekar Jayaraman, Esq., LL.M - Principal Attorney. 2020-11-20. Jayaraman Law. en-US.
  17. Book: Harris. B.. Chicago Sun-Times: When Truth-Tellers Lie. Ogilvy. A.. O’Rourke. James S.. 2005. The Eugene D. Fanning Center for Business Communication, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame. 978-1-5264-0602-6. London. 10.4135/9781526406026.
  18. Web site: Netflix's 'Indian Matchmaking' Is Your New Favorite Dating Show. Rodriguez, Bianca. 16 July 2020. Marie Claire.
  19. Web site: Karra, Sushma. 15 July 2020. 'Indian Matchmaking': 'Negative' Aparna doesn't like comedy, will she be able to find her perfect match?. Meaww.
  20. Web site: Mehrotra, Kriti. 16 July 2020. Are Aparna and Jay From Indian Matchmaking Still Together?. TheCinemaholic.
  21. Web site: Indian Matchmaking creator says show was rejected 10 years ago for not being white enough. 17 June 2020. Houghton, Rianne. Digital Spy.
  22. Web site: Director Smriti Mundhra On New Dating Show and the Business of Indian Matchmaking. Gupta, Prachi. 16 June 2020. Jezebel.
  23. Web site: 2020-07-27. Before 'Indian Matchmaking', this Netflix docu chronicled lives of 3 unmarried women. 2020-09-30. The News Minute. en.
  24. Web site: Netflix's Indian Matchmaking Twitter Review: Some netizens love it while others deem it 'wrong' on many levels. 17 July 2020. Pinkvilla.
  25. Web site: Netflix Series 'Indian Matchmaking' Sparks Mixed Reaction From Viewers. Andrew, Stephen. 17 June 2020. PopCulture.
  26. Web site: Ugly truth or promoting colourism': Netflix's Indian Matchmaking gets mixed reviews. 18 July 2020. The Indian Express.
  27. Prepare to fall in love with Indian Matchmaking: Review. Baldwin, Kristen. Entertainment Weekly. 15 July 2020.
  28. Web site: Stream It Or Skip It: 'Indian Matchmaking' On Netflix, Where Mumbai's Leading Matchmaker Matches Singles In India And The U.S.. Keller, Joel. 16 July 2020. Decider.
  29. Web site: Netflix's Indian Matchmaking Review: Sweet and Entertaining. Sengupta, Archi. 16 July 2020. Techquila. 18 July 2020. 19 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200719140933/https://www.techquila.co.in/netflix-indian-matchmaking-review/. dead.
  30. Web site: Indian Matchmaking Exposes the Easy Acceptance of Caste. Dutt, Yashica. 1 August 2020. The Atlantic.
  31. Web site: Indian Matchmaking review: Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match. Gupta, Shubhra. 18 July 2020. The Indian Express.
  32. Web site: Netflix's 'Indian Matchmaking' Is The Talk Of India — And Not In A Good Way. 2020-09-30. NPR.org. en.
  33. Web site: Netflix's Indian Matchmaking condemned for being a 'cesspool of casteism, colourism, sexism and classism'. Harrison, Ellie. 17 June 2020. The Independent.
  34. Web site: 'I am mortified': Twitter opens fire on 'Indian Matchmaking' - Netflix's reality show on arranged marriage. 18 July 2020. The Free Press Journal.
  35. Web site: 'Indian Matchmaking' Review: The big fat desi wedding stereotype. The Hindu. Rosario, Kennith. 17 July 2020.
  36. Web site: What Critics Are Saying About Indian Matchmaking. Padwal, Saylee. Screen Rant. 17 July 2020.
  37. Web site: 'Indian Matchmaking' Review: If 'Love Is Blind' Had A Brown, Cheesy And Problematic Cousin. Sahu, Sushri. Mashable. 17 July 2020 .
  38. Web site: Indian Matchmaking's Creator Welcomes Conversations About Colorism. Padwal, Saylee. July 18, 2020. Screen Rant.
  39. Web site: 'Indian Matchmaking' Creator Smriti Mundhra Puts A Spotlight On The Marriage Industrial Complex of the South Asian Diaspora. Menon, Radhika. July 16, 2020. Decider.
  40. Web site: Ravi. Guru Singh. 2020-10-01. I Was On Netflix's 'Indian Matchmaking.' Here's What You Didn't See On The Show.. 2021-07-13. HuffPost. en.
  41. Web site: Ashley. Lee. 2020-07-18. Netflix's 'Indian Matchmaking' hints at happily ever after. Did the couples last?. 2020-07-29. Los Angeles Times. en-US.

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