The latest in the list of Netflix offerings is a show on Indian matchmaking and the complexities of arranged marriages in the country. The show was much anticipated but once out, it has become the centre of controversy and it seems like its not going in too well with the audiences.The show is primarily about the life and times of an Indian matchmaker who works on the whims and wishes of her clients- prospective brides and grooms and their parents and respective families. The show depicts how Indian society has been obsessed with parameters such as caste and religious affiliations, height and skin colour among a host of other factors as far as arranged marriages are concerned and how despite the modernisation of society, arranged marriages continue to remain as a popular choice.
Indian Matchmaking has eight episodes and it made a premier on Netflix last week and is among the most talked-about and top ranked shows on the platform these days. What is interesting is that the film features a real matchmaker named Simia Taparia, from Mumbai who offers arranged marriage consultancy for Indians and NRIs.
The series depicts the obsession that Indian families have with finding the ‘right match’ for their children.
This show has been subjected to ample jokes, criticism and memes and has once again rekindled the debate on people’s extent of pickiness as far as factors such as caste, height and skin colour of the potential spouse is concerned in India.
The show brings out the regressiveness that is ingrained in Indian society and how the processes of entrenched sexism and casteism continue to plague the Indian mind.
The society that we are today is depicted quite bluntly in the film and it almost makes us feel ashamed of our ongoing obsessions with superficial indicators even in these contemporary times.The series has been created by Oscar nominated director Smriti Mundhra.
