Despite criticism that it perpetuates stereotypes, the Netflix dating show earned an Emmy nod for its first season.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was your initial reaction when you got that Emmy nomination?
I was just dropping my daughter off at camp in the morning and started seeing all the text messages.
Akshay Jakhete on ‘Indian Matchmaking’.Netflix
That conversation is really important and welcomed.
It wasn’t something that I feel vindicated over.
Who was this show meant for?
A scene from ‘Indian Matchmaking’.Netflix
Growing up, I so desperately wanted to see myself and my experiences in popular entertainment.
I finally had an opportunity to make something I craved.
But it was definitely designed to be accessible to an audience even broader than that.
We were confident that there would be access points for people who don’t know anything about our culture.
When you were first starting this, did you ruminate a lot on what the tone would be?
It reflected an accurate portrayal of the subset of society, a very narrow slice.
you might’t make one show that’s going to represent 1.3 billion people across the globe.
That’s a win for me.
How long ago did you start this docuseries?
I personally started this journey over 10 years ago, when I first met Sima from Mumbai.
She was introduced to me as my matchmaker.
I tried to pitch a show about her for years.
How difficult was it to find families who would agree to go on camera?
Indians are typically very private around this process, you know?
So it took a lot of explaining by saying, “No, it’s notThe Bachelor.”
Now that we know there will be a second season, will you be following up on these matches?
Because I’m dying to know what became of Aparna, the hard-to-c’mon attorney from Houston.
Everything’s on the table!
Season 1 ofIndian Matchmakingis currently streaming on Netflix.
