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Indian Matchmaking: Twitter Reacts To ‘Rishta Aunty’ Culture, Desi Stereotypes

Manaal Khurram

When it comes to whether a new show has clicked with audiences or not, Twitter is the best judge. The ball is in the court of the Twitterati who either sing praises for the TV series like no other or then disapprove of it completely. The latest reality show to have come under the radar is Netflix’s latest outing, Indian Matchmaking. It has left social media users divided and unable to make up their minds as to whether they hate it with a passion or love it. While some users are totally cringing and grinding their teeth, others are loving watching it as their daily dose of downtime. Here is a lowdown of some extreme reactions on the micro-blogging site.

Indian Matchmaking bears similarities to a couple of other shows that have sprung up in the recent past. From Love is Blind to Too Hot To Handle, this one too centres on men and women searching for the ‘right one’… but with a massive desi twist! The new-fangled production includes glimpses of judgmental, sexist, racist and inquisitive rishta aunties who think their opinion is above all. It seems like the internet cannot digest the grave reality either, which is that typically, traditional arrange marriage set-ups are a common phenomenon amongst such communities. From the ‘aunty stare’ to the ‘mamas’ boys’, all of it is extremely relatable. This does not mean that the makers of the show have tried to normalize the entire marriage culture but they have told it how it is. There’s no denying it and there’s not running away from it either! It is what it is!

Weighing in on the mama’s boy aspect, one user shared, “A few statements from Akshay: ‘My mom has said I’ll be married by the end of year. If I eat this brownie my mom will kill me. My mom is literally what I want to be looking at in a wife’ #indianmatchmakingnetflix#IndianMatchmaking.”

“Ask a man what a good woman is and watch him describe a slave,” shared one user, adding, “This is Indian Matchmaking in a tweet.” Another user begged to differ. Anantika Mehra shared her words of wisdom which we quite agree with! She penned, “I don’t get why we are so upset about the Indian matchmaking show. I think it gives great insight into exactly how casteist and parochial we really are. Plus a good look into the lives of the filthy rich. I don’t think it endorses or normalises this at any point.” One Twitter user wrote, “So none of the couples that matched on #IndianMatchmaking are still together… It makes sense since these are the only things everyone cares about,” alongside images of a ‘fairness meter’, a doctor measuring a girl’s height and her complete profile, almost as though she is applying for a job. LOL, this one made us laugh too!

Some users cannot stop trolling Aparna, one of the girl guests on the show, who is looking for the perfect guy for herself. “Aparna is the most hate-able person because the conversations she has on her dates give me second-hand embarrassment like… girl, are you TRYING to get rejected? #IndianMatchmaking,” One post took a dig at the upper castes. “The way upper castes are ferociously admonishing #IndianMatchmaking, one would assume that they’d all be fully anti-caste when it comes to love marriage. Lol, but y’all still want the same things in both unions. Lighter skin, slim & trim, and similar social locations,” it read. But many, on the other side of the spectrum, found the post too be too triggering.

https://twitter.com/jejemontebon/status/1285181468549869569

But there are some who are loving the show and find it to be very entertaining! “Turned Indian Matchmaking on at #Netflix for white noise while working. Now I can’t stop watching. Bye world, see you tomorrow,” wrote a user. “Indian Matchmaking is show all of us must watch. I’m so glad they made this show, and made it this way in particular,” added another. Some had mixed emotions! #IndianMatchmaking just binged the entire season, ngl was entertaining (as in cringeworthy) but also really sad. The word “traditional” was misused a lot. Instead, “orthodox” should’ve been used.” What do you feel about Indian Matchmaking? Write your thoughts in the comments section below.

http://thebrownidentity.com/2020/07/18/emotions-run-high-as-twitter-users-demand-palestine-to-be-added-to-google-maps/

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