Here Why An IIT-IIM Matrimonial Site Ad By Karan Johar Is Courting Controversy

Director-producer Karan Johar as the brand ambassador of a controversial matrimonial site was seen in a video using an old popular dialogue from one of his movies: "Hum ek baar jeete hain, ek baar marte hai, Aur shaadi bhi ek baar karte hain." We live once, we die once and we marry once. Johar received massive trolling for the advertisement that he posted on his official social media handle.

The comment section of his Instagram post on the same was soon flooded with questions from netizens who were puzzled by the fact that Johar chose to endorse such a site. Johar was also heard saying in the video, "bahot zaruri hai ki life partner ka decision humara correct ho. Aur yeh aasan nahi hai, especially for highly-educated. Qki agar aap highly educated ho toh aap age, caste, height, vagera dekhne se pehle, ek partner me mental compatibility dhundte ho. " It is very important that our decision to choose a life partner is correct. It is not easy especially for highly-educated people because when you are educated, you look for mentality compatibility before looking at age gap, caste, height and caste. In the caption he wrote that he excite to see some "real" not just reel love come to life.

Why is the matrimonial site courting controversy?

Unlike many matrimonial sites that make people choose their spouses within their caste, the site endorsed by Karan Johar makes them choose from people who went to top educational institutions of India. Johar wrote in the caption, "They invite alumni of the top 10-15 colleges from all fields to register and find a match amongst each other!" These colleges include the India Institute of Technology (IITs) and and Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs) of the country as well.

The site has other similar categories where the people seeking partners are either from Engineering, Architecture, Medicine, Mass Communication, Management, CA, Fashion Design among other backgrounds. Social media users expressed disbelief and hoped for the post by Karan Johar to be some sort of prank.

Karan Johar Matrimonial ad controversy

Many disagreed with the idea of the endorsed matrimonial site and argued that it would make the elites of Indian society choose an equally elite partner. They also brought in the nepotism allegations against Johar and saw the advertisement posted by him on similar lines. One user wrote, "Wow. I guess they have been successful making you the brand manager for elitism. This is such bullshit. "

Suggested Reading: I am a Dalit, Here Is My Story Of An Inter Caste Marriage With A Happy Ending

Another user wrote, "This whole concept is so offensive. Are they trying to say that an IIT / IIM alumni will be mentally compatible only with another IIT/IIM alumni?! Ridiculous!" Many similar comments were posted against Johar. Many users also took a jibe at the director-producer for his unmarried status. The movie dialogue used in the advertisement was also targeted. Social media users pointed out that the male lead in the film had married twice in the film so him saying "shaadi bhi ek hi baar hoti" (You only marry once) does not make sense.

As per a study, education levels of men and women in India does make them any averse to the idea of marrying within their caste. It is also shown in many reports that most of the top Indian educational institutions mostly have urban, upper-caste, middle to upper class people occupying the student seats and teaching staff seats.