The new Netflix original Indian Matchmaking (scroll down to watch the trailer) is supposed to be the top show on the streaming platform in India right now. This is not surprising; since marriages are pretty much a national obsession. Getting married is a mandatory expectation in the Indian family and the wedding industry is a huge one; the one industry that will never go into recession. With arranged marriage still very much the norm for Indians – in India and abroad – the matchmaker is an entity that will never go out of business either.
She claims to be Mumbai’s top matchmaker and she is all about matching people based on some very specific requirements such as height, status, income, skin colour etc. She also uses the services of astrologers (no surprise) and face readers.
Everyone has that inquisitive, matchmaking aunty in their family/neighbourhood. Sima is that; only she gets paid.
She is a lawyer in the US and she did not come across as particularly likeable.
She is Guyanese with an Indian heritage and her open and friendly nature seems to have endeared her to a lot of viewers.
This independent and vivacious character also gets the thumbs up from a lot of viewers.
He works with the family jewellery business, likes to cook up exotic stuff and is clearly loaded. Also, he is very ‘picky’ and the huge walk-in closet that he is so proud of seems to suggest someone exceedingly self-absorbed.
People liked Vyasar Ganesan a counsellor and college teacher. They liked Akshay Jakhete somewhat less.
Apparently, the mother is ‘not even looking at girls below 5’3” in height’ and wants her to be ‘flexible’. The guy apparently wants to marry someone like his mother.
So this guy and his many regressive ideas are not high on the popularity stakes.
As someone who is also Guyanese, Guru was matched with Nadia but most did not dig his ‘disapproving Indian dad energy’.
Some viewers and reviewers liked the show because it’s good for a few laughs at our little Indian foibles.
Things like this and people were also amused by the passing off of ‘makhane’ as amuse-bouche.
The emphasis on fair skin, the expectation that the girl has to be able to blend and adjust in with the family of the man boy she marries...
While Aparna seems to be the NRI equivalent of Karen (she wants a precise match to blend into her life), her mother seems to embody every unpleasant NRI stereotype ever.
The Indian obsession with fair skin is quite evident too.
This is clearly all about wealthy, upper-class people, but it is also about high caste people… no caste, class or religious diversity here.
Many reviewers felt that the show promotes a bunch of problematic, regressive ideas.
As such, many people couldn’t watch more than a few minutes of the Netflix reality TV show. Watch the trailer of Indian Matchmaking to decide whether you'll be able to watch a whole season (eight episodes) of that.
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