Jul 28, 2020
Indian Matchmaking: The 'cringe-worthy' Netflix show that is a huge hit
A new Netflix show, Indian Matchmaking, has created a huge buzz in India, but many can't seem to agree if it is regressive and cringe-worthy or honest and realistic, writes the BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi. The eight-part docuseries features elite Indian matchmaker Sima Taparia as she goes about trying to find suitable matches for her wealthy clients in India and the US. "Matches are made in heaven and God has given me the job to make it successful on Earth," says Ms Taparia who claims to be "Mumbai's top matchmaker". Since its release nearly two weeks back, Indian Matchmaking has raced to the top of the charts for Netflix in India. "As an educated, liberal, middle-class Indian woman who does not view marriage as an essential part of life, I watched Indian Matchmaking like an outsider looking in on an alien world," journalist and film critic Anna MM Vetticad told the BBC. Arranged marriages, she says, are "a practical Indian version of the dating game in the West and to that extent this show can be educational since it does not condescendingly suggest that one is a more modern practice than the other." Ms Vetticad describes Indian Matchmaking as "Occasionally insightful" and says "Parts of it are hilarious because Ms Taparia's clients are such characters and she herself is so unaware of her own regressive mindset".
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