Indian Matchmaking: Why has it sparked such strong debate?
The Stream speaks to Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Smriti Mundhra about the hit Netflix series.
On Thursday, August 27 at 19:30 GMT:
Netflix’s latest binge-worthy series “Indian Matchmaking” has prompted a huge and ongoing debate about the portrayal of arranged marriages in India and abroad.
The show follows matchmaker Sima Taparis as she helps people find ‘the one’ through a process that falls somewhere between arranged marriage and contemporary dating. The series has been praised for bringing South Asian culture into the Western mainstream while frankly exploring the realities of arranged marriage.
It has also been criticised, though, for what some see as promotion of problematic standards in matchmaking such as colourism, casteism and gender stereotyping.
Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Smriti Mundhra, who created the series and also directed a documentary about arranged marriage in 2017, has welcomed the feedback – good and bad.
“I want to be held accountable. Push me so I can push too,” she told The Cut in a recent interview.
In this episode of The Stream we meet Mundhra and discuss the debate around her wildly popular show.
On this episode of The Stream, we are joined by:
Smriti Mundhra, @SmritiMundhra
Director & Executive Producer, “Indian Matchmaking”
Parul Bhandari
Associate Professor of Sociology, O.P Jindal Global University
jgu.edu.in
Sunil Hiranandani
Founder, Sirf Coffee