Indian matchmaking (Season 2)
Introduction
This Wednesday, Sima Taparia from Mumbai is back with the second season of the infamous show Indian Matchmaking. I say infamous because the show did meet with a lot of criticism from its regressive and cliched content. However, the show did find an audience where almost everyone that I know happened to watch the show. It is safe to say that the show Indian Matchmaking falls in the bracket of our secret guilty pleasure. So whether people admit to it or not, or even criticize it or not, most people did end up watching season 1. I remember having succumbed to peer pressure and ended up binge watching the show a year or so ago. I personally believe that these shows do not really need to be reviewed or analyzed(but have to do so due to its demand). Instead, you can just sit back and enjoy the show with a bag of popcorn.
So with season 2 of Indian Matchmaking, I did not expect it to be very different from season 1. But the main question being, is the show worth investing 4 hours of your life. Who am I kidding, you are going to watch it anyway and then just trash the show for its content. So here goes!
The Good
While most of us enjoy trashing this show, you have got to admit being exposed to different kinds of people and their experience with relationships. I for one really enjoy studying the characteristics of a person and you could argue that this is a wrong show for it. But I happen to grab every opportunity that comes my way. So here in season 2, we were introduced to a new bunch of people(along with a few old ones) who happen to search through the partners across the 8 episodes. You can almost make out a few of them being very rigid and so a part of me was willing to learn from them.
The kind of experiences which were faced by a few of them while dating was a lesson in itself. A couple of them did admit to or also chose the wrong partner over the potential right one and that was a nice little lesson of focusing on one and grabbing the opportunities around you.
The Not so Good
This section is your favourite bit yeah? So here we go. The show is filled with cliches and partly regressive, although not as much as season 1. Also, the biggest USP of last year’s season, Sima aunty isn’t there throughout and she does play a disappearing act every now and then. Instead the focus is more on the main players who majorly drive the show.
Another drawback here is the introduction of so many players instead of focusing on a few of them. What that transpires into is a disjointed storytelling which doesn’t allow you to invest in any stories. There are many tracks which were left hanging and would possible be reintroduced in season 3. There are also parts of the show which are uneventful and something where season 1 outscores season 2 in a very big manner! Also, the characters were a lot more interesting in season one than here in season two although the drama is consistently watchable.
My Take
I feel marriage is overrated although a part of me does believe in its institution. However, I don’t think the children should be pressured into taking the plunge by the parents. Yes, parents would be worried for their children but no just blackmail them into a relationship will not serve the purpose. Also specifically for the show, there will be claws out to tear it apart. But then again you do know what you have signed up for. So just sit back and enjoy the ‘cringe’ or do not watch it altogether.
Conclusion
The second season of Indian Matchmaking is your secret guilty pleasure which you may like or hate but cannot ignore. Available on Netflix.