Aparna Shewakramani is probably the most talked about and hated cast member from the popular Netflix reality show Indian Matchmaking.
She has often been described as ‘stubborn’ and ‘dominating’ during the show, and that matchmaker Sima Taparia finds it ‘very hard and challenging’ to find a perfect match for her.
Indian Matchmaking Was Edited to Make People Look Bad
Not only that, but the show itself has garnered a lot of criticism from South Asians for promoting stereotypes, colorism, class divide and the toxic rishta culture.
But Aparna Shewakramani has her own issues with the show. In an interview with Quint Neon, the lawyer talks about how the show creates a certain narrative for its viewers.
While we do know that each episode reaches us after heavy editing, but according to Aparna, that it was edited in a way to fit a specific archetype, which is far from reality.
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Hiding What Actually Took Place
The things that were actually happening, were not shown to the audience and that’s what added fuel to the fire.
“I remember when I first met her, we were sitting down and she asked me, ‘What do you want in a boy?’ and the viewers don’t see this but I actually said two things. I said I want someone really laid back, quiet and introvert and she looked at me and said, ‘No’,” Shewakramani recalled.
After receiving a blank reaction from Sima, she tried to explain herself over and over. She tried telling it in different ways and that’s the part where the audience goes like ‘she is demanding’.
“So I am thinking there’s a language issue. So I try to tell her what I want and that’s what the audience sees. I thought, if I say it in enough ways, Seema will understand. But it wasn’t about that. Seema had her own ideas and she wanted me with someone jolly,” she said.
The 34-year-old lawyer was also initially under the impression that it was a docu-series about Indian matchmaking and they would be able to highlight the best parts of their culture. However, it eventually became a reality show.
“We all have to think about the way we consume television. It was created for us as entertainment. People think it’s true but it’s not. It has everything to do with the archetype they created,” she said.
The ‘Loser’ Guy Actually Turned Out to Be a Loser
Aparna Shewakramani also opened up about the infamous incident where her mother describes the first suitor she’s introduced to as a ‘loser’.
“My mom calls him a loser and everyone thinks that it’s because he had a podcast and we cared about that. I don’t care about that. What happened off camera was that he was really hurtful to me. He said some really disrespectful things. My mother got really mad. I was crying that night. I almost did quit the show that day but they don’t show you that. It’s interesting that you lose your own voice in your own story,” she said.
You can watch the full video here:
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