FILM : INDIAN * MATCHMAKING INSTANT

'Indian Matchmaking' alum calls show 'sensationalised'. Aparna Shewakramani says it didn't portray reality.

Popular Netflix reality show Indian Matchmaking has received a lot of criticism for multiple reasons since its release.

Heaving bashed for promoting South Asian stereotypes and fueling the rishta culture that is perceived as toxic among many, the show has also been slammed for the fact that none of the relationships in it remained intact after it ended.

Now the show is being criticised by main cast member Apna Shewakramni, in a recent interview with Quint Neon, she pointed out that Indian Matchmaking was edited in a way to fit a narrative different from what was actually taking place.

Recalling her first interaction with Seema the matchmaker, Shewakramani listed the things that weren't shown to the audience.

''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 didn't see but I actually said two things. I said I want someone really laid back, quiet and introverted and she looked at me and said, 'No', '' Shewakramani recalled.

The contestant adds that the part audiences were shown is one where  she had to explain herself to Seema after receiving a 'blank' reaction.

'So I am thinking there's a language issue. I try to tell her what I want and that's what the audience sees. I thought, if I say it 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.

Shewakramani was also initially under the impression that it was a docu-series about Indian matchmaking as opposed to reality TV that eventually became the case.

''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.