Netflix to stream third season of ‘Indian Matchmaking’

Netflix, the American streaming platform, has announced that the third season of Indian Matchmaking, its reality show centred on the Indian arranged marriage system, will premiere on 21 April.

Having launched its first season in 2020, the eight-episode web show followed Sima Taparia, ‘Mumbai’s number one matchmaker’, in her own words, as she coordinated proposals for young Indians within the country and abroad, and stirred considerable debate within the country.

Perpetuating stereotypes of colourism, casteism and sexism about the country, the creators forget that Indian millennials and their families have come a long way after battling these societal norms for years, netizens had argued then. Episodes titled ‘Slim, Trim and Educated,’ ‘Just Find Me Someone,’ ‘It’s High Time’ and ‘Adjustment and Compromise,’ among others, were the subject of much ridicule and many memes in India.

Youngsters had called out the American platform and creator Smriti Mundhra for judging people by their looks and also for making marriage seem like an accomplishment and necessity even as men and their families specifically searched for women who could stay home and look after children.

Another Netflix show, Never Have I Ever, a coming-of-age comedy drama about an Indian American teenager that came out in May 2020, had also drawn flak for its tone-deaf stereotypical depiction of the south Asian community. In an interview with The Huffington Post, its director Kabir Akhtar had emphasized that it’s unfair to place the burden of a collective identity (such as a community) on one show that can’t be fully identifiable for everyone.

But several content experts were quick to point that what may seem like complete absurdity to some of us living in India, is a reality, especially for Indians settled abroad who wage a constant battle to hold on to their identity.