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The following story contains spoilers from the entire season of âIndian Matchmaking.â
âIndian Matchmakingâ follows Sima Taparia, who offers her traditional matchmaking services in todayâs world of hyphenated identities, niche dating apps and career-driven women. Throughout the debut season of the Netflix series, she meets with South Asian singles and their families to help finesse their romantic futures, and even calls on face readers, astrologers, life coaches and fellow matchmakers for assistance.
âItâs a miracle it even got done,â said series creator Smriti Mundhra, who called all of Tapariaâs clients (over 500 people!) to find singles who were willing to share their matchmaking journey on camera. Twelve initially agreed to take part in the modern twist on traditional arranged marriages, and after more than six months of filming as many first dates as they could, producers included eight participants in the final cut.
Many of the storylines wrap up with a hint at happily ever after. But did these couples last? The Times checked in with each of the arranged matches via email to see if the couples remained together.
Jagessar, a New Jersey event planner, previously had trouble dating because her family is from Guyana. âThat is a part of the diaspora that is often made to feel as separate from the Indian diaspora, so it was important for us to show that she is still just as Indian as anyone else,â said Mundhra of casting her.
Even though Jagessar seemed to really hit it off with Shekar in Chicago, the two are no longer talking. âBeing off camera definitely changed the dynamic between myself and the matches that I had continued talking to, and obviously, the change was not positive,â she told The Times. âBut it helped me learn more about myself and what Iâm looking for in a future partner.â
A Mumbai-based jewelry designer, Maloo initially didnât appear ready to enter any kind of romantic relationship. âHe faced pressures that I think we often attribute to women â that pressure to settle down and get married once at a certain age,â said Mundhra. âThat tension, between his very fabulous life and those more conservative expectations, was interesting to me.â
Malooâs date with the Delhi-based model-actress Rushali seemed so romantic, but the two are no longer seeing each other. âWe had different paths in life and we respected that and moved ahead,â he told The Times. âIâm still looking for the right one.â
âIndian Matchmakingâ joins Netflixâs growing stable of dating shows like âLove Is Blindâ and âToo Hot to Handleâ while taking on arranged marriage stereotypes.
Shewakramani, a Houston-based attorney, lit social media ablaze with her laundry list of biodata must-haves. âWe picked her because she is hilarious,â said Mundhra. âWe South Asian women are expected to diminish ourselves and conform to what we think is going to be attractive to partners. But Aparna knows who she is, she knows what she wants, and she is not afraid to speak her mind.â
Shewakranani went through a montage of matches, and told The Times that the cameras âsurprisingly added more stress in wanting to make the match work, because it felt like so much more hinged on it.â The series left viewers wondering about her future with Jay from Atlanta, but Shewakranani is not dating any of her onscreen pairings. âThey were all wonderful people,â she said. âThey just werenât the one for me.â
Ganesan, an Austin-based schoolteacher, revealed to the cameras that his family history has its complications. âIn South Asian culture, people get stigmatized by their pasts, or the actions of their parents, and itâs really unfair,â said Mundhra. âWe wanted to show people that if you reject someone based on these kinds of superficial things without getting to know the person, youâre going to miss out on somebody pretty great.â
The series left Ganesanâs storyline with Rashi on a cliffhanger, but he told The Times that heâs still single. âBut itâs no oneâs fault. Matchmaking really is tough. Both people I was matched with were truly wonderful, inspiring individuals who Iâm proud to call friends. Ultimately, things didnât work out, but Iâm grateful for the memories I have from working with Sima.â
Jakhete, a Bombay-based graduate, is âthe most traditional of everyone we had, as far as family structure and support,â said Mundhra. âHis parents want the best for him, but thereâs an intense pressure to follow a certain path.â
The series ends with Jakhete and Radhika from Udaipur participating in a pre-engagement ceremony, but the two never got formally engaged or married and are no longer together. âA few days later, there were some things which we found out that did not go down well with us, and eventually I called it off,â he told The Times, though he declined to explicitly state what those things were.
âTrust is something [that] once broken cannot be regained in a matter of days â it takes a really long time,â he continued. âIâd rather wait and be with the correct person than be stuck with the wrong person. So I am single right now and still looking for the right one.â
Though none of Tapariaâs onscreen matches are still intact since filming wrapped in October, Mundhra hopes viewers fixate less on anyoneâs particular relationship status and focus more on each participantâs personal growth.
âThe means are more important than the end,â she said. âThereâs something fascinating about watching people go through this process, and seeing what it revealed to people about themselves, about their own expectations, and about the way the tradition of arranged marriage is changing.â
Thatâs what Bansal, the Delhi-based entrepreneur who ultimately didnât end up with a match, took away from the experience. âI understand the many preconceived notions associated with arranged marriages â and believe me, before going on âIndian Matchmaking,â I had them too,â she told The Times.
âAt the end of the day, it all comes down to a connection,â she continued. âIf itâs there, you canât deny it and it wonât matter how you two were introduced.â
The complete guide to home viewing
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