Indian Matchmaking

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Last edited June 16, 2021


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Indian Matchmaking is a 2020 Indian documentary television series produced by Smriti Mundhra.[1][2][3]

Cast

Main cast

  • Sima Taparia, a marriage consultant from Mumbai who uses preferences from the people, their parents, and her years of matchmaking experience.[4][5] She previously appeared on Mundhra's previous work, A Suitable Girl.[6][7][8][9]
  • Aparna Shewakramani, a 34-year old attorney and general counsel from Houston.[10][11][12]
  • Pradhyuman Maloo (sometimes referred as Pradhyumn), a 30-year old jeweler born and raised in Mumbai.[13][14]
  • Nadia Christina Jagessar, a 33-year old event planner from New Jersey who runs her own company, Euphoria Events, and works as a marketer for Givaudan.[10][15]
  • Vyasar Ganesan, a 30-year old teacher, college counsellor, and writer from Austin.
  • Akshay Jakhete, a 25-year old businessman, who is a self-described introvert from Mumbai.[16][17][18]
  • Ankita Bansal, a 30-year old businesswoman in India who has her own business in garment e-commerce.

Supporting cast

Release

Indian Matchmaking was released on July 16, 2020, on Netflix.

Episodes

Template:Episode table

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."[26] She pitched the show to Netflix by showing Taparia, who "were super excited about it."[27] 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.[28] 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 with some that "fell off" during production.[7]

Critical reception

The show received mixed reviews between critics and social media users.[29][30][31] 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."[32] 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."[33] Archi Sengupta of Techquila rated the show 4 stars out of 5, calling it "sweet and entertaining."[34]

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 1 billion–plus population.[35][36] 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."[37] 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."[38] The show was also said to further endorse and promote gender stereotypes.[39]

In addition to showing "classist" and "casteist" stereotypes, the show was criticised for whitewashing the idea of arranged marriages.[40][41][42] 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."[43][44] 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."[45] 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.”[46][47] Suchin Mehrotra of Film Companion concludes his review by indicting the Netflix original as "unsatisfying" and all in all, "a missed opportunity".[48]

The Los Angeles Times followed up with the couples appearing on the show and reported that they are not together anymore.[49]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Indian Matchmaking: The reality show that's divided viewers. BBC. BBC. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  2. ↑ Prepare to fall in love with Indian Matchmaking: Review. Entertainment Weekly.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 'Indian Matchmaking': TV Review. The Hollywood Reporter(July 10, 2020).
  4. ↑ What Is the Cost of Hiring Sima Taparia?. TheCinemaholic(July 17, 2020).
  5. ↑ Indian Matchmaking: Everything we Know About Matchmaker Sima Taparia. Screen Rant(July 5, 2020).
  6. ↑ Here's What We Know About Sima Taparia, the Matchmaker on Netflix's Indian Matchmaking. Men's Health(July 13, 2020).
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Inside Netflix's eye-opening look at arranged marriage, your next reality TV obsession. The Los Angeles Times(July 17, 2020).
  8. ↑ Who is Sima Taparia? Husband, career and Indian Matchmaking explored. Reality Titbit(July 16, 2020).
  9. ↑ Families Around the World Seek out the Services of Indian Matchmaker Sima Taparia. Distractify(July 17, 2020).
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Netflix's 'Indian Matchmaking' Is Your New Favorite Dating Show. Marie Claire(July 16, 2020).
  11. ↑ 'Indian Matchmaking': 'Negative' Aparna doesn't like comedy, will she be able to find her perfect match?. Meaww(July 15, 2020).
  12. ↑ Are Aparna and Jay From Indian Matchmaking Still Together?. TheCinemaholic(July 16, 2020).
  13. ↑ Are Pradhyuman and Rushali From Indian Matchmaking Still Together?. TheCinemaholic(July 16, 2020).
  14. ↑ Netflix's Indian Matchmaking hunk rejects 150 marriage offers in 18 months. Daily Mirror(July 16, 2020).
  15. ↑ Meet Nadia Jagessar: We found the Indian Matchmaking star on Instagram!. Reality Titbit(July 17, 2020).
  16. ↑ 'Indian Matchmaking': Preeti heaves a sigh of relief as son Akshay gets engaged at last to Radhika. Meaww(July 16, 2020).
  17. ↑ Akshay on 'Indian Matchmaking' Basically Wants to Marry His Mother. Distractify(July 16, 2020).
  18. ↑ 'Indian Matchmaking': Akshay's silence before mom Preeti makes fans ask him to speak: 'You're a grown-a** man'. Meaww(July 16, 2020).
  19. ↑ Chicago lawyer talks life after Netflix's 'Indian Matchmaking', Swartz, Tracy. chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  20. ↑ Chicagoan Shekar Jayaraman talks about his experience on new Netflix show 'Indian Matchmaking', Team, ABC 7 Chicago Digital. ABC7 Chicago(August 16, 2020). Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  21. ↑ 'Indian Matchmaking' star Nadia reveals if she is still together with Shekar. Newsweek(2020-07-21). Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  22. ↑ About Shekar Jayaraman, Esq., LL.M - Principal Attorney. Jayaraman Law(2016-04-19). Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  23. ↑ Chicago Sun-Times: When Truth-Tellers Lie{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. The Eugene D. Fanning Center for Business Communication, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame(2005). ISBN 978-1-5264-0602-6
  24. ↑ 'Indian Matchmaking': 'Negative' Aparna doesn't like comedy, will she be able to find her perfect match?. Meaww(July 15, 2020).
  25. ↑ Are Aparna and Jay From Indian Matchmaking Still Together?. TheCinemaholic(July 16, 2020).
  26. ↑ Indian Matchmaking creator says show was rejected 10 years ago for not being white enough. Digital Spy(June 17, 2020).
  27. ↑ Director Smriti Mundhra On New Dating Show and the Business of Indian Matchmaking. Jezebel(June 16, 2020).
  28. ↑ Before 'Indian Matchmaking', this Netflix docu chronicled lives of 3 unmarried women. The News Minute(2020-07-27). Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  29. ↑ Netflix's Indian Matchmaking Twitter Review: Some netizens love it while others deem it 'wrong' on many levels. Pinkvilla(July 17, 2020).
  30. ↑ Netflix Series 'Indian Matchmaking' Sparks Mixed Reaction From Viewers. PopCulture(June 17, 2020).
  31. ↑ Ugly truth or promoting colourism': Netflix's Indian Matchmaking gets mixed reviews. The Indian Express(July 18, 2020).
  32. ↑ Prepare to fall in love with Indian Matchmaking: Review. Entertainment Weekly(July 15, 2020).
  33. ↑ Stream It Or Skip It: 'Indian Matchmaking' On Netflix, Where Mumbai's Leading Matchmaker Matches Singles In India And The U.S.. Decider(July 16, 2020).
  34. ↑ Netflix's Indian Matchmaking Review: Sweet and Entertaining. Techquila(July 16, 2020). Template:Rating
  35. ↑ Indian Matchmaking Exposes the Easy Acceptance of Caste. The Atlantic(August 1, 2020).
  36. ↑ Indian Matchmaking review: Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match. The Indian Express(July 18, 2020).
  37. ↑ Indian Matchmaking Exposes the Easy Acceptance of Caste. The Atlantic(August 1, 2020).
  38. ↑ Indian Matchmaking Exposes the Easy Acceptance of Caste. The Atlantic(August 1, 2020).
  39. ↑ Netflix's 'Indian Matchmaking' Is The Talk Of India — And Not In A Good Way. NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  40. ↑ Indian Matchmaking review: Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match. The Indian Express(July 18, 2020).
  41. ↑ Netflix's Indian Matchmaking condemned for being a 'cesspool of casteism, colourism, sexism and classism'. The Independent(June 17, 2020).
  42. ↑ 'I am mortified': Twitter opens fire on 'Indian Matchmaking' - Netflix's reality show on arranged marriage. The Free Press Journal(July 18, 2020).
  43. ↑ 'Indian Matchmaking' Review: The big fat desi wedding stereotype. The Hindu(July 17, 2020).
  44. ↑ What Critics Are Saying About Indian Matchmaking. Screen Rant(July 17, 2020).
  45. ↑ 'Indian Matchmaking' Review: If 'Love Is Blind' Had A Brown, Cheesy And Problematic Cousin. Mashable.
  46. ↑ Indian Matchmaking's Creator Welcomes Conversations About Colorism. Screen Rant(July 18, 2020).
  47. ↑ 'Indian Matchmaking' Creator Smriti Mundhra Puts A Spotlight On The Marriage Industrial Complex of the South Asian Diaspora. Decider(July 16, 2020).
  48. ↑ Netflix's Indian Matchmaking Is Neither Frivolous Fun Nor Particularly Meaningful. Film Companion(July 17, 2020).
  49. ↑ Netflix's 'Indian Matchmaking' hints at happily ever after. Did the couples last?. Los Angeles Times(2020-07-18). Retrieved 2020-07-29.

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