Indian Matchmaking Is The Reality Of Indian Society We Cannot Run Away From

Indian Matchmaking with Sima Taparia, a show where she acts as the self proclaimed "cupid" definitely shows us the reality of Indian society. The show unintentionally acted as a satire and brought forwarded far too many deep rooted problems associated with marriages in India. It showed that marriages are nothing but a business deal,where if the criteria fits you make a deal and in this case, you marry the other individual.

The series starts with Sima asking one of her clients the kind of partner he wants and in return his mother clearly saying that she should be "flexible", hinting at the fact that she should be submissive with one sole purpose of serving her husband. Later Akshay meets a girl who is a chartered accountant and wants to work after getting married, however, Akshay who is trying to find his mother in his future wife wants her to take care of the kids and not go to work.

Another interesting character is Aparna, who is characterised by Sima as a stubborn, "modern" and negative person. Aparna, a 34-year-old lawyer raised by a single mother, is a strong-minded, ambitious, successful person who knows what she wants. But if you see the social media sites talking about the show, you'll see how she and her mother are being portrayed as the "villain" just because she is not willing to compromise.

Sima Taparia or popularly known as "Sima Aunty", with her associate Geeta, ridicules strong, opinionated individuals and continuously asks them to compromise major likes and dislikes just to settle down. Throughout the show, you can see how arrange marriages are being glorified, how during their times they were not even allowed to see their respective partners and with god's grace everything turned out to be AMAZING for them! What they conveniently miss out is the torture most people go through these arranged marriages for dowry and many other major reasons.

While relying completely on Kundlis, face reading, what this show lacks is a properly reasoned foundation. It completely disregards the choices of individuals and very correctly shows how the entire decision to get married is taken by their families. Even though it was not meant to be a satire, it acts like one and depicts how in India the pressure to "settle down" starts from the early age of 25. Akshay, a Boston return 25-year-old male is emotionally blackmailed by his mother to get married and worst comes to worst she will get him married without even his permission.

The only good thing this show has to offer is Ankita's story, an entrepreneur who realises through this arduous process that she does not want to get married now, and is happy with her life even without a partner. She fights body image issues and rises like a phoenix, spreading empowerment to each and every girl facing the same problem.

Indian Matchmaking review in a nutshell? For me the series fails to convey its message of god appointed cupids in the form of these matchmakers, but shows the reality of Indian marriages and what an individual has to "compromise" in order to settle down.

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