I was requested by one of my friends to watch this Netflix docu-reality series, Indian Matchmaking, based on arranged marriages in India. I myself have had an arranged marriage via an online matchmaking portal, so this whole concept sounded exciting. However, my friend had already given me a spoiler alert asking me to watch it at my own risk, as it can trigger trauma, and I would agree with her to an extent.
And so it began, the story of Sima Taparia from Mumbai. You’ll cringe at the show right from the beginning and your hatred for Sima Taparia and her ways will only grow by manifold each time she tries to find a candidate a match. Her concept of finding a match for you is very clear, she matches biodatas after taking in consideration the preferences (at least she claims to do so) and lets the heavens and the kundli guys do their jobs after that. And if nothing works out, Sima aunty immediately sends you to a life coach.
Before I began writing the review, I even googled about all her candidates just curious to know how many of them have been able to find the love of your loves through this traditional and peculiar way of finding oneself a match.
One of her first clients was Aparana from The United States who was a 34-year-old, confident, and very self-dependent lawyer. She spoke her own mind and was choosy when finding herself a boy. She was deemed a little too demanding by Sima and was constantly kept asked to be more adjusting and compromise more and be as flexible as she can be. But Aparana stood her ground and chose to not budge completely just for the sake of being able to get a match. At the end of trying to find her two matches, none of them worked out, and Aparana until date remains single.
Then came in Pradhyuman, a Jewelry designer by profession in Mumbai who also loves to experiment with cooking, and can even make makhana turn into the ice with liquid nitrogen (his skills made me feel like he was secretly preparing for MasterChef). He was picky, when it came to choosing the girl of his dreams, however, Sima being Sima tried to fit in her constant nudging and made him meet two of them. While it looked like it did work out with his second match Rushali, for real, it didn’t really work out between them. And even he, remains single.
Nadiya was another of her clients, personally, my favourite of all the women in the show. A wedding planner by profession, Nadiya is Guyanese with her roots being Indian, which made it difficult for her to find a match for herself. Even she was given options, and it did look like it worked out with Shekhar who happened to have rejected Aparana. However, both Shekhar and Nadiya are single as things didn’t work out between them.
Then came in Akshay, oh, Akshay, the typical Mama’s boy who wouldn’t move an inch without taking her permission. Akshay had already rejected 150 girls and wanted someone exactly like his mother Preeti. Preeti is probably the most dominating woman I have come across and I could only pity the girl who would get married to Akshay because of the mother in law troubles she would have to deal with. Akshay even ended up having a Roka with one, but as with the others, currently, he remains single as it did not work out with the girl.
My favorite male client of Sima was Vyasar, he was a guidance counselor in the United States and was the happiest person you’ll see. He really wanted to find someone who would just spend her life with him in the happiest way possible. However, again, the stars didn’t align (pun intended), and Vyasar also remains single.
The last one was Ankita, an entrepreneur from Delhi who wasn’t the Indian matrimony kinds tall, fair and beautiful but was amazing in all respects. Ankita was given to meet a guy from Delhi who she later on found was divorced. After much consideration, Ankita decides to halt her marital process, and focuses on her career which took off.
India Matchmaking is a very misguided way of arranged marriages in India, while I would agree that people with the thought process of tall, slim and fair, there are some who will accept you for who you are.
I’ve been married for almost two years now, and while the entire in laws shenanigans do exist in my life as well, I am never once asked by my husband to give up on my dreams or commented on the way I should be leading my life and at the end of the day, that’s what matters the most.
You will find a Preeti kind of an in-law in every third household and you’ll even find some amazing ones in the other two, but it’s on the individual as to how they firmly stand their ground and make adjustments without giving up on their beliefs.
Indian Matchmaking focuses on the flaws that exist in the thought process in the entire wedding process in India and how women and even men are reduced to be being mere homemakers, and food providers, while in fact, a marriage is much more than a union of families.
Star cast: Aparna Shewakramani, Pradhyuman Marloo, Nadia Jagessar, Vyasar Ganesan, Ankita Bansal
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