Indian Matchmaking is Netflix’s new reality TV series following Mumbai-based matchmaker Sima Thaparia as she guides clients from the US and India to find suitable life partners. Indian Matchmaking season 2 has 8 episodes, each with a runtime of around 30 minutes.
Netflix describes the series as:
Matchmaker Sima Taparia guides clients in the US and India in the arranged marriage process, offering an inside look at the custom in a modern era.
– Indian Matchmaking Season 2 Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
We all know that Indian Matchmaking is a reality TV show, right? I think I want to preface this review by saying that a lot of this is scripted, maybe all of it. So, we really need to take all of this with a grain of salt – it’s all overdone for entertainment.
Anyway, Indian Matchmaking season 2 comes with some new and some old people as we see the journeys the new ones go on and what happened to last season’s marriageable bachelors. I like the tone of the show – it keeps itself fun and flirty, and the background music is very light and never really gets very serious. The series throwbacks to the last season in subtle ways, and there are some very sweet and funny moments.
Sima from Bombay is still the same, mostly. She’s just changed her tune from “compromise” to “patience”, which, well, fine. Compromise isn’t always a positive term which makes sense – in India, the word compromise is oftentimes used to ask women to give up their hopes and dreams and just mould themselves according to the guy she marries. So, I get it. Unfortunately for Seema, except for these surface-level changes, her outlook towards marriage hasn’t changed one bit, which is honestly a little sad.
All the people who feature on Indian Matchmaking season 2 are people who want to get married the “traditional” way. Let’s not kid ourselves here – all of the people here want to find partners through matchmaking. And that’s fine – you’re allowed to make these choices for yourselves. Love or arranged, as long as it’s consensual and everyone is happy; it is what it is.
That being said, there obviously are a lot of things wrong with the mentality of the people on the show, which is something we see in everyday life, unfortunately. It’s problematic on-screen and off. When you see Sima Taparia say things which aren’t progressive and inclusive, it is frustrating and annoying.
But bear in mind that this is exactly how some people go through life, and matchmaking does unfold like this for some. Sure, it is realistic for the better families in India who let their children have a say in their married lives. However, I must mention here that arranged marriages are a dangerous business in the subcontinent. In a country where love marriages can end in death for some, the show isn’t a truthful depiction of each and every arranged marriage that takes place in the country. I think that’s a discussion for a documentary or a news clip, but I just wanted to make it known that although it’s great for a hate-watch, it still feels tone deaf.
Plus, there’s the classism, castism and everything horrendous that plagues India. Do we love it? No. Is it still a huge part of the country? Yes. After the uproar of last season, Indian Matchmaking didn’t try to change the way it showcased the show or its people but then again, it is a show catered to the rich – for people like us to peek into huge mansion-like homes and swanky cars and ask, what if?
The show is almost propaganda for matchmaking. True, India is moving forward and trying (being the operative word) to find spouses on their own terms, so that’s great. But Taparia seems to push for people to quickly decide whether they will get married the next minute so that her TRP increases. On the other hand, she doesn’t believe that you can know someone in the first meeting. So, you know, these mixed signals are rather weird.
In the last season, people really hated the fact that Taparia pulled the women down and asked them to compromise but gave men the better end of the bargain. She knocks down both genders in season, which, I mean, I guess it’s a win? However, much like last season’s Aparna, I think she still has the same attitude towards Viral, who has achieved a lot in life and thus, wants someone who can match her.
Which, you know, fair. However, the way Taparia talks to her is so condescending sometimes, which begs the question – why should successful, self-made people have to compromise their wants and needs to “settle down”? Which, moreover, begs the question – what happened to having patience?
I think the show did a disservice to Aparna in the last season, showcasing her to be this gruff and unrelenting woman. Which, truly, she was, and is, not. I think I related to Aparna and her struggles. It’s difficult to find people matching you when you’ve achieved a lot and achieved all of them alone. Thus, asking to find someone who’d match that vibe isn’t wrong – you should get everything that you want and deserve. The path to finding the perfect spouse is different for different people, and none of them is wrong.
Summing Up: Indian Matchmaking Season 2
All said and done, Indian Matchmaking season 2 will be viewed by most as cringe content. It’s definitely entertaining and fun and will tell you what not to do in a relationship or when you’ve finally decided to get married. It’s not better than the first season; it’s just another reality TV that you watch and forget over a lazy weekend.
Indian Matchmaking Season 2 is streaming on Netflix.
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