‘Regressive, problematic’ season 2 of 'Indian Matchmaking' fails to impress

Indian Matchmaking is back for a second season – but viewers were disappointed to note that many of the problems they had with season one were not addressed in season two either. The Netflix series focusses on India’s arranged marriage market, with Mumbai-based matchmaker Sima Taparia at its centre. “Matchmaker Sima Taparia guides clients in the US and India in the arranged marriage process, offering an inside look at the custom in a modern era,” reads the Netflix description of the show.

For season two of Indian Matchmaking, Taparia returns with a new roster of clients and some old faces like Nadia Jagessar and Aparna Shewakramani. The show, however, has been called out as regressive and problematic on social media.

So why has Indian Matchmaking season two disappointed its audience? For one, viewers took issue with the portrayal of Indian culture in the Netflix show. For another, the show puts the spotlight exclusively on India’s elite while reinforcing outdated notions of caste and colourism.

Here is a look at some tweets that explain where Indian Matchmaking season 2 went wrong:

You know what weirds me out about Indian Matchmaking? Whenever they take you to a city in the US, they show the cityscape and surroundings, whereas for an Indian city it’s poor folks on the street right before you jump into watching rich Hindu UCs in their expensive homes

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— nainika (@badassflowerbby) August 12, 2022

men in indian matchmaking are like “I want her to be very modern and open minded, but cultured. she’ll have to party with me till 5am but also serve me breakfast at 7am” — k (@krownnist) August 12, 2022

On Indian matchmaking, everyone who starts listing out their criteria never says they want a partner that is emotionally available, trustworthy, dependable, reliable, assertive, has healthy boundaries, and again the issue of caste comes up where clearly that is a strong presence

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— Navjot Pal Kaur (she/her) (@navjotpkaur) August 12, 2022

Indian Matchmaking is back on Netflix. BUT don’t I vividly remember clients asking Sima not to match them with dark-skinned Indians? Yeah. It sent me into a colorism & caste system spiral last season. — shaquille sunflower. (@heartsNhandguns) August 12, 2022

Sima aunty on Indian Matchmaking be like “you want a man that respects your independence and that you’re attracted to…um, that’s too much and unrealistic” #IndianMatchmaking

— Sim (@SimranJawanda_) August 10, 2022

Viral from Indian Matchmaking S2 is the perfect representation of toxic girlboss culture, like when she said her damsel in distress friends are "married" and the rest are "successful" like girlie chill tf out — Nightmare Eyes (@la_vie_en_toast) August 11, 2022

All criticism aside, the show nevertheless managed to find fans. Meme-makers were quick to drop hilarious posts after season two of Indian Matchmaking was released on August 10. Take a look:

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Akshay: "my Mum thinks I'm the most eligible batchelor" Every Brown girl watching Indian Matchmaking Season 2: — Elghoraba (@Elghoraba1) August 11, 2022

The awkward silences on season 2 of Indian Matchmaking... pic.twitter.com/2AYMRtiZ52

— Wanji (@WanJeeRow) August 11, 2022