Indian Matchmaking made headlines and memes. People were interested in the lives of participants, their relationship status, why they said what they said and the people they were. One of the participants on the show, Aparna Shewakramani invited polarising opinions from the viewers.
While some went to the extent of calling her narcissistic and annoying, the others saw through what an independent woman wants. Sima Taparia, the matchmaker on the show slated Aparna as the "hardest kind of person to find a match for"...all because she knew exactly what she was looking for.
In a chat with The Quint, Aparna told us what went around behind the scenes.
Participants Weren't Sima Taparia's Clients
The show follows the matchmaker Sima Taparia where she is seen going from house to house trying to meet her clients and setting them up with their "appropriate" matches. While the show might have you believe that the contestants were in touch with Sima Tapari and hired her, it was actually the makers of the show that set up the participants with the matchmaker.
A Docu-series Made into Reality Show
Aparna in a chat with The Quint told us that the makers of the show approached them with the idea of making a docu-series and then edited it to suit the narrative they wished to show. All aspects of the participants weren't revealed.
It Was Edited to Make People Look a Certain Way
"What you see with me and Pradhyuman is not how it happened," says Aparna. "They wanted to show me in a certain light and they did. I was probably the furthest apart from Sima Taparia on the show. When I met her, I felt like there was an problem in understanding," said Aparna.
You See Very Little of What Actually Happened
Aparna tells us that there were times when her dates lasted for about ten hours also and you see very little of what had happened. "People come to me and say that your dates were bad, but I am like really? They were actually good. I am friends with these people," says Aparna. "In the beginning when people were saying stuff about me and these people wanted to stand up for me clarify and asked them to stop," says Aparna.
Why Hide What 'Actually' Happened?
Aparna's first date with Srinivas Rao who was a podcast host and the show portrays Aparna and her family as belittling him for his profession. In a chat with The Quint, Aparna says, "What viewers don't see is that he was horrible to me and that I was crying. It came to a point where my mom asked me to quit the show because it wasn't worth it and that night I was almost about to quit the show," says Aparna.
"I didn't know that someone could edit and make you lose your own voice in your own story, and that's very sad," says Aparna about the narrative of Indian Matchmaking.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)