Netflix's 'Indian Matchmaking': Will there be a Season 2, are the couples from the show still together?
'Indian Matchmaking' released on Netflix this past Friday and since then has been on the receiving end of comments that are branding it cringeworthy and problematic for celebrating colorism, casteism, and sexism. Season 1 of the show featured eight singletons looking to get hitched, and helping them realize their marital dreams was a matchmaker named Sima Taparia who advocated problematic principles and dispensed questionable advice all throughout the season.
In an interview with Conde Nast Traveler India, Sima boasted about always being on the job, i.e. finding matches for people, including the time when she was watching her luggage at the Mumbai airport carousel. However, she was unable to find matches for any of the participating castmates on the show. Here's an update of where the cast stands in terms of their relationships.
Aparna Shewakramani, the lawyer from Houston, was matched with three prospective partners on the show. In an interview with Oprah Magazine, Ankita said, "We’re actually good friends. That’s a positive experience that came out of the show. To walk away with three people you can relate to, and who are good and kind and grounded, is a success in my book."
Pradhyuman Maloo, a jewelry designer from Mumbai, didn't end up getting hitched to anyone but ended up dating a New Delhi-based model Rushali on the show after turning down 150 girls. However, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, he confirmed that they weren't together. "We had different paths in life and we respected that and moved ahead. I’m still looking for the right one,” he said. Nadia Jagessar, a wedding planner from New Jersey, dated Vinay during the course of the show but after an abrupt fall-out, she realized she liked the lawyer, Shekhar.
However, their romance fizzled out after the cameras stopped rolling. “Being off-camera definitely changed the dynamic between myself and the matches that I had continued talking to, and obviously, the change was not positive,” she told the LA Times. “But it helped me learn more about myself and what I’m looking for in a future partner," she added.
Vyasar Ganesan was someone who enjoyed being a favorite of the audiences as well as Sima's who gave him the blue-eyed boy treatment. However, he too ended up single after the show ended. "It’s no one’s fault. Matchmaking really is tough. Both people I was matched with were truly wonderful, inspiring individuals who I’m proud to call friends," he told the Los Angeles Times.
Akshay was the only contestant whose arc on the show ended with a ritual that many believed to be an engagement ceremony with a girl from Udaipur. However, in an exclusive interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), he clarified that it was just a pre-engagement ritual and a day later, he called off the relationship altogether. "Not that there's something wrong with the person, but we are two completely different people. I mean, we couldn't even hold a conversation together for more than five minutes. So that's the only reason. The next day itself, I was like, 'I'm not doing this'," he said. Another castmate, Richa, was slammed for wanting a "fair-skinned" man as her life partner. Her journey was not disclosed too well on the show and speculations are rife that she will receive more screen time in Season 2 of the show.
Even though the show has received a lot of flak from the Internet, people have not been able to ignore it and there are very high possibilities of the show returning for a Season 2. Till then you can stream all episodes of the first season on Netflix and let us know your opinion about it in the comments.
