Indian Matchmaking - Season 2
“Far from being good representation, Indian Matchmaking imparts false impressions of Indian culture.”
Title: Indian Matchmaking
Episodes Reviewed: Season 2
Creator: Smriti Mundhra 👩🏾🇺🇸
Reviewed by Ishmeet Nagpal 👩🏾🇮🇳🌈♿
Read the Season 1 review here.
Technical: 3.5/5
Netflix’s Indian Matchmaking is a reality show that follows Mumbai-based marriage broker Sima Taparia as she sets up couples in India and across the United States. After a whirlwind first season by creator and executive producer Smriti Mundhra, we pick back up with a brief montage of a wedding—one that appears to have been arranged by Sima, though it doesn’t involve any cast members we’ve met thus far.
From there, Season 2 continues the observational style that Mundhra asserts “holds up a mirror, as opposed to trying to put a filter on [arranged marriage].” However, this sounds disingenuous given that Indian Matchmaking cherry-picks interviews of couples to extol the virtues of arranged marriage. Nor does the show examine—or even acknowledge, really—that the practice is rooted in casteism, misogyny, and colorism.
Cinematography and editing choices add to this sense of obliviousness. While American cities get introduced through immaculate skylines or beautiful parks, Indian ones showcase poor people on crowded streets set to stereotypical music before finally panning to the affluent homes of Sima’s clients. This lens reduces Indian people from lower socioeconomic levels to mere scenery, a choice that caters to a presumably Western audience.
Perhaps this reflects Mundhra’s American perspective. But an outsider’s lens isn’t always a bad thing: Season 2 feels larger in scope, featuring more cast members based in the United States and in a late-season teaser, even London. We also get to see more of the cast members’ dating lives, independent of Sima’s matchmaking. Overall, this format still makes for an enjoyable watch (or hate-watch). But this latest batch does lack some of the novelty and charm that first engaged audiences, and it doesn’t help that many journeys feel unresolved and end on an abrupt note.
Gender: 2.5/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? NOPE
Women in India have been pressured for centuries to marry strangers in the name of maintaining caste purity and preserving family honor. Marrying for love, especially outside one’s caste, may even end in an honor killing. So there’s a certain dissonance when modern women like Viral, Aparna, Nadia, and Shital—who seemingly have a lot of agency—seek an arranged marriage.
In Viral’s words, they “have it all.” They’re successful and know exactly what they want. Shital even talks about freezing her eggs. This representation feels aspirational because such independence remains a distant dream for the majority of Indian women. But it also makes one question why these cast members are taking this route. Sima repeatedly tells the women to want (and to be) less than their full selves—then labels them as difficult if the list of traits they seek in a future spouse goes longer than just a couple bullet points. Why are these women okay with being subjected to Sima’s belittling remarks?
In contrast, Sima coddles men like Akshay and Vinesh who set off red flags the moment they open their mouths. Akshay talks over Devika for their entire date, telling her Elon Musk is his role model. Vinesh is only interested in women with “sex appeal.” And it’s not just the men in Indian Matchmaking with questionable ideas about romance and love; at one point, Sima gleefully declares that Nick Jonas (29) and Priyanka Chopra (40) are a bad match because “he looks so small and petite in front of her and she looks elder.”
The problem with these sexist scenes isn’t that they happened: It’s that Mundhra allows them free airtime without showing any of their damaging effects. Whereas the first season saw cast member Ankita raise important questions after being subjected to Sima’s body shaming and colorism, no such effort has been made in Season 2. To present casteist and sexist values without critique is as good as endorsement.
Race: 2/5
Indian Matchmaking can hardly claim the “Indian” label as it focuses only on rich upper-caste Hindus, mostly Brahmins. Muslims, who make up 15% of the Indian population, are absent from the narrative despite arranged marriages taking place just as frequently among them. And one Sikh cast member per season hardly amounts to diversity.
The deeply damaging caste system among Hindus places Brahmins at the top. Over thousands of years, they and other upper castes have disenfranchised those at the bottom of the ladder, using practices like astrological charts and pujas/havans (ritualistic prayers) as tools to perpetuate dangerous ideas of “purity.” As recently as this summer, caste discrimination in Silicon Valley made headlines and in India, it’s a daily, violent reality with thousands of Dalits murdered every year. By presenting Brahminical practices without any of this context, Indian Matchmaking actively participates in whitewashing the harm they cause.
Another questionable decision is how Mundhra recklessly handles superstitions. Seemingly benign, and suggested as such in Indian Matchmaking, scam artists in India peddle black magic, witchcraft, amulets, and more to extract huge sums of money. They inflame paranoia among the population to the point of causing violence and death. It’s clear that the makers behind this Netflix reality show have no qualms about staying inside their privileged bubble, blithely treating subplots like Sima’s reliance on a face-reader, or Akshay’s eventual support for the hex-removal puja he’d received, as just a bit of fun.
Far from being good representation, Indian Matchmaking imparts false impressions of Indian culture. To discerning viewers, it goes one step further and highlights the ugliest parts of our society without critique.
LGBTQ: 1/5
Though Mundhra has commented in the past that “It’s entirely possible that the scope of [Sima’s] clientele expands into same-sex couples,” no such thing has taken place in Season 2. And if Sima’s awkward cameo on Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives is anything to go by, where she states that such marriages aren’t legal in India so she won’t set them up—hello, U.S. clients?—we shouldn’t hold our breaths for the matchmaker to suddenly become LGBTQ-friendly.
Mediaversity Grade: D 2.25/5
Indian Matchmaking may be a watchable dating show, but it glosses over pertinent issues that plague Indian society. Yes, the show shines a light on how women are still treated unfairly when it comes to marriage, but it fails to critique the injustice. Instead, it glorifies “successful” arranged marriages, normalizing casteism and sexism in the process. If the show must continue for a third season, I sincerely hope these serious concerns are addressed.
Like Indian Matchmaking? Try these other series featuring Indian and Pakistani Americans.
Indian Matchmaking - Season 1
Ms. Marvel - Season 1
Never Have I Ever - Season 1